God forbid we can't be having daft quip's can we.
I've been thinking about this as well Steve. We lived in various places in the phils but so far never in a secured, 24hr security compond. At the time though we kept things fairly basic as I was flying out there in my leave and the wife was going to be coming to the UK soon anyway. The neighbours obviously knew about me and I found that as long as we where friendly enough (say hi etc but not bringing them for dinner. That sort of thing) they left us to our own devices. Nieghbours can be helpful if your moving into a new area the same as in the UK.
I think if it was a more permenant thing then I look at secured compound with the tips Graham gave. I worked with a guy who also installed an electrified fence on top of his 10ft wall. The main problem I have with these secured divisions is the feeling of being closed in. Just having a house on its own in the middle of a plot on a hill somewhere does sounds a lot better to me, but I suppose it depends how safe the area is. I think if we got a house away from a compound arrangement it would need to be close to / same neighbourhood as some family so they could help you out / spread the word to the nieghbours to leave you alone. Otherwise if your in a built up area then for me I think the peice of mind of being in a community with security etc out ways the worries of lying awake at night wondering what that noise was or when your out wondering if all your gear has been nicked.
Being the rich british bloke that you are you'd obviously as Graham said have some help in the house such as a maid. We are considering using someone related to us from the province (cousin etc) that we think should be more trustworthy than a stranger. Having them in the house should help. This then may allow the buying of a place away from the walled comunities. Bi9ggest problem is you don't want to feel your living in a prison do you?
