I just opened the mailbox and found 3 envelopes.
The first says “Yale University” and asks for a charitable donation.
The second says “[My current] University” and thanks me for a charitable donation.
The third says “Homeowners’ Association”, has a sticker of a cowboy on a horse and another sticker saying “God Bless America!” and asks me for homeowner dues.
Clarissa's Blog 
Why do I think these “homeowners’ associations” are in themselves uniquely American phenomena? I certainly have never heard of such things in Britain and from what I hear of them, almost seem like an affront to personal liberty in some of their restrictions (although one supposes common areas and amenities within a neighbourhood, as Wikipedia describes existing, might be some consolation).
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We don’t have strong municipal services around here, so if we want the grass mowed, flowers planted and street cleaned, we need to get money together from the residents.
This is a great question you ask, thelyniezian. Does anybody else here know if it’s an American thing?
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Well that’s an interesting point. Over here such municipal services are generally provided by local government (a.k.a. “the council”) and are taken for granted.
Most of the problems I have are about all the silly rules some have about how you cut your grass (or even the fact you have to have some) or whether you’re allowed to hang your washing out (tumble dryers ain’t too eco-friendly IMO) and the fact that joining one is a condition of sale in some neighbourhoods. (Once upon a time early versions, so I read, also were used to exclude certain racial groups from neighbourhoods before changes in the law prevented this.)
So this is why the whole concept seems quite bizarre and alien to me.
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