One of the reasons we moved to Panama is because my husband is an architect and he wanted to build stuff that he knew he couldn't in the US. We have a 70 foot tall tower next to our house and the inspectors only came to check it once while it was being built. He knew in the US, he would have to get permission from all of the neighbors. He and his dad had a neighborhood in Texas they were planning to develop, but they ended up selling it because they knew it was never going to get approval unless they spent millions of dollars. Here things are easier (albeit slower). We have some container apartments we are building without any problems. It's crazy how the US wants so much control over everything.
HOAs too have a lot of power there, you're right. We knew a guy who put in the "wrong" kind of grass that stayed green during the winter. He was told he had to rip it out, even though it used less water and looked better than all the other yards in his neighborhood. It's crazy the power they have. They're everywhere and have a lot of power!