Belfast is an amazing city. I found it quite safe (same rules apply here as they do anywhere else in the world: don't walk around at 3am by yourself, etc etc) and the people of Belfast are among the friendliest I've ever met.
Belfast is a lovely place with lovely, friendly people and very helpful. They have a great sense of humor -- great craic.
It's not the nicest place I've visited. It has few nice things to see, but I didn't especially like the city. The only thing I found that was awesome was Belfast Castle in Cave Hill -- that place was charming!
It's rubbish to say that Belfast is unsafe for women - it is no more unsafe than the rest of the UK and as a student from Belfast living in London and Manchester I would say it is a lot safer. If you stick to the city centre, university area, Lisburn Road, and the Oddysey complex to go out in, it's fine. There are some great bars and clubs about and the people are friendly - it's not a huge city but you'll have a great time - especially if you travel out to the coast or into the country! As for the troubles, it is a small minority of people that have anything to do with the unrest and only certain areas of the city. Do not be put off by the emphasis and exaggerations of the media!
Newcastle is a great night out, shame it's so far away from everywhere!
I found Belfast to be an awesome city. It is completely safe to walk around alone at 3 in the morning. There are great indie rock bars to go to and the people are extremely friendly. I cannot wait to go back.
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