MSNBC posted a story about a woman who attempted to steal a 6-month baby in my neighborhood. The location was the Bank of America at Avenue H and PCH - mere blocks away from my own ’stead. The would-be kidnapper didn’t succeed but this says something about the neighborhood. I wouldn’t call it an “upscale shopping area” unless your idea of such is block after block of post-war shopping strips, but it’s nice.

I once thought the price of real estate had an inverse correlation to the level of crime in the neighborhood. It should but it seems the huge cost of housing in Southern California doesn’t buy you an idyllic Pleasantville neighborhood. Would you pay $1M for a home and expect to have a near-kidnapping down the street?

Last year the neighboring city of Hermosa Beach was the scene of a murder at a popular diner, the Rocky Cola Cafe at Aviation Blvd. and PCH. Hermosa is far trendier than Redondo (I might actually use the term “upscale shopping” here) and it, too, comes at a high cost for homebuyers.

Crime can happen anywhere and OJ Simpson showed that even lofty Brentwood is not immune. However, celebrity mishaps are the bread-and-butter of our grocery store checkout lines and I expect some lunacy in a neighborhood where there’s big, big money and the social elite. But Redondo and Hermosa don’t house the Hollywood elite. Upper-middle-class families come here to raise families, enjoy the beach, and smirk at the leathery old-timers who decades ago paid $70,000 for what’s now worth $1M.

The problem with beach cities like Redondo and Hermosa is their close proximity to less-than-ideal neighborhoods only minutes away by car. Trouble truly comes to you.

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