HOAs aren't inherently evil. Some can be bad, but there are just as many ones without any issues. "We had a discussion on snow removal and arrived at a sensible conclusion" doesn't make good clickbait journalism or Reddit karma, and people who say things like "I'm happy with my HOA community" usually get downvoted heavily.

Take a good look at what services are included with the HOA. In exchange for that monthly payment, what are you getting? What restrictions are in place? What rules would you have to follow if you wanted to, say, add a deck?