You can buy better neighbors with a house, and less crime.
I wish!
I built a fancy house in a fancy neighborhood, and then a real a-hole bought the house next to me as his retirement home.
Unfortunately the only surefire way to avoid this situation is to be the bigger asshole.
In my case, the advantage is that I don't have to share a wall with my bad neighbor.
Edit: I should add that the rest of my neighbors are awesome, Just like every other place I've lived.