I am an American who moved to Amsterdam from the suburbs of a small city in the south of the U.S. 12 years ago. As a woman, I feel safer here than I ever did in the U.S. I can literally walk/bike alone after a night out with friends without ever feeling scared. The people you see walking around the Red Light District are mostly tourists. And that area of town is not only about sex and drugs; actually there are some nice restaurants there. It's not an area that everyone would enjoy, but it's only a small part of Amsterdam anyway. You can easily avoid it if you want to and enjoy all the other wonderful things this beautiful city has to offer.