I’m an international student that moved to RVA for work post-grad. The sentiments I initially received were pretty similar but almost 3 months in I’m absolutely loving the place. It’s basically a nature-filled, artsy, small big city (as compared to similar places like Norfolk or NOVA). Honestly, in terms of crime, I’ve haven’t experienced anything yet and definitely felt more unsafe in DC than in RVA. You’ll be fine here. As a general rule of thumb, if you don’t go out looking for trouble, trouble probably won’t go looking for you.