I live in DHA Lahore and have occasionally travelling on Bedian and Barki road. I also have a 5 kanal plot in a small farm house scheme right on the interchange of Lahore Ring Road, 15 min drive from DHA.
My reasons for living in DHA over that 5 kanal land.
1. Internet: I work online, so good internet is a must. I currently use Wateen 30 mbps cable internet and also have Jazz 4G data as backup with which I get speeds of 40-70 mbps at my house. Transworld cable net and PTCL GPON are also available. In farmhouse, you will get PTCL regular connection at best and DSL connection may not be very stable. 4G internet coverage and speed is mostly not good outside main commercial and residential areas (though you can test it first.)
2. Food delivery: The list of restaurants that deliver food to my home in DHA is very big. On FoodPanda, over 300 restaurants deliver food to my house at this time. I just eat Chinese food delivered from YUM Y-block.
3. Other delivery: My sister lives in a farm house but mostly use my address for online shopping. Delivery charges are high and sometimes riders refuse to deliver or can't find the farm house.
4. No LDA involvement: Everything is straightforward and goes by the rules in Cantonment board. No bribes. On empty farm house plot, I received property tax notice of 300,000 rs per year by LDA, I asked my high court advocate relative to give them a call and they immediately discarded the notice. These things don't happen in DHA.
5. Regulated mosques: Only DHA administration can build mosques and they are regulated. Only azan is allowed on loudspeakers. Outside DHA you can see some molvis shout at the top of their lungs all day and night.