I don't want to go around proposing a HOA-style contract with every single person in earshot / downwind every time I move, and hope we can come to terms I can afford.
> it's easier to force people to abide by rules that you can't get them to voluntarily agree too
The issue is that some people's concept of "ownership" means "I can do whatever I want on this property, even if it imposes a high cost on others". You can pick your scenario, from "My home, my 3am drum practice" to "My home, my burning of this pile of nuclear waste". There's no magic way of assessing the "true" costs to me by your actions next door, so we need these laws.
If you live on more space near less people, then you need less of these laws, maybe none!
I understand (and agree) that for every "My neighbors yard is a literal cow pond" there's some Karen who is mortified at the shade of off-white I painted my house. There are also unlimited historical cases of the government misusing these laws to keep poor/minorities out. The reality is there are a lot of selfish assholes out there, and so laws help give you a little recourse when one moves in next door.
I don't feel unreasonable saying I want to sleep from 11pm-7am, and be able to sell my house some day with a value based solely on the greater market and what I do to it, not the crazy guy down the street.
That said, I live in a very dense city. I'm not moving to rural Alabama and expecting to impose that on anybody 2 miles away.
I live in a small lot suburb with roosters and I have been known to angle grind at 3 am. Neighbors say nothing. I say nothing about screaming kids, blaring music, and the dude doing late night Tuba practice. This is just people living life.
If you value total silence and no evidence of lifestyle diversity around you, then perhaps rural Alabama is a better fit for you.
Property rights are not absolute--just like free speech is not absolute.
You have to pay your property taxes and, as discussed on this thread, there's zoning which may restrict commercial activity in a residential area. There are doubtless other bylaws in a given place related to noise, smells, etc. The government can take a property by eminent domain as well.
It's about being reasonable. And what's reasonable on a 10 or 100 acre rural farm is different from what is reasonable in an upscale suburban community with houses on 1/4 acre.