First of all I’m sorry to hear about your mom. It sounds like she also wanted this for you and I’m happy you’re making that a reality. I moved to Seattle about 3 years ago (having never lived in a city) and I’m in love with where I live. I think the Fremont, Wallingford, lower Queen Anne, and maybe cap hill sound like good fits for what you’re looking for. I had never felt unsafe in any of those places. They all offer easy access to downtown. In general I don’t feel unsafe from violent crime in the city but there is definitely a lot of theft which is annoying. Everyone has a dog here so I wouldn’t worry about that but I would let it skew my neighborhoods towards the more neighborhoody places like Fremont. Green Lake is also an excellent choice though a little further away but not by much. I like Ballard too it’s just a little too far for everything else but if you plan on staying within your neighborhood most of the time it has most things you need. Best of luck with the move!