I believe anywhere near a neutron star is going to be extremely inhospitable. A very compact massive object, spinning really fast, and with a strong magnetic field, will produce intense synchrotron radiation, right?

Wikipedia says the magnetic field of a neutron star is between 10^8 and 10^15 times the Earth's. The amount of energy in a magnetic field that strong is mind-boggling. Anything anywhere near a neutron star will be bathed in intense broadband radiation, and whipped about by a rapidly-rotating magnetic field. Not a nice place to set up camp.