I've seen neighborhoods in Miami where bars are so common, you'd almost think they were required by code. As long as you're not welding something at home out of rebar and angle iron, they're safe and can be quite attractive.
Paranoid? Half the guys on this forum carry guns to Walmart, and they call you paranoid?
Busted window easy to notice? on the back of the house?
Alarm system is great. Itr will keep people from staying long and taking a lot of stuff. The cops will show up and give you a report which you can give to your insurance company so you can get your money back less deductible and whatever amount is over your exclusion limits.
Rural areas with little crime are great as long as they aren't within 100 miles of a major city. In a rural area convenient to a big city the crooks will back a truck up to the house, knock down a door or bust a window and fill up the truck. Neighbors can't see it, dog barking or not.
Alarm systems, dogs, guns, cameras, and barred windows are all reasonable deterrents, IMO. All of them have their place. Neighbors will whine about bars, but their stuff will get stolen first 'cause they weren't "paranoid".