Seaside is an unincorporated planned community in the Florida panhandle developed along “new urbanism” principles. Or, more bluntly, it is a wealthy settlement dominated by big vacation homes packed together on small lots with minimal yards — and the kind of place where neighbors are often absent or simply do not know each other and the new urbanist principle of putting high traffic commercial activity close to residential areas can made it hard to recognize suspicious conduct. Local miscreants no doubt see the area as a venue for fun, mischief, and profit at the expense of out of town rich people. A developer friend of mine refers to new urbanist projects as “slums of the future.”
Seaside area used to be a beautiful drive between Panama City Beach and Destin. Nothing but scrub oaks, dunes and a few cabins. I stayed in a house there a few years ago. It was depressing when I thought about how it was before.