Every time I drive into one of those communities I feel like I am entering a prison. Do those people even realize they are locking themselves out from the outside world and not protecting themselves? Also most of those automatic gates are a joke - you just follow another car in front of you. It is sad how pessimistic and paranoid those people have to be to cut off themselves from everyone else and pay millions of dollars for it.
I get it when the gated community is right next to an inner city or bad neighborhood in a big city. Because unfortunately big cities in the U.S. have some serious issues with crime and deviant people in general. But I don't get it when they live in gated communities in more suburban/rural-ish areas far away from the inner cities.
On the other hand, I absolutely understand how gates are useful when there is a bad neighborhood nearby, but it still means nothing. Thieves can hop over the fence or drive behind another car to get through the gate.