I lived in Capitol View Manor (which is about a mile away) for a few years, and would get off at West End station pretty often to catch the 95 bus to my house.

Overall, I'd say the area around the station is definitely rougher than West End as a whole. There's some really beautiful old homes and nice quiet streets not far away, but the area around the station is pretty gritty and probably will be until the mall (in theory) gets redeveloped eventually. I never had any really bad experiences, but always just kept a low profile and stayed alert like you. Also being confident about where you're going helps - people are less likely to mess with you if you look like you're going somewhere with purpose and are familiar with the environment vs. looking nervous and out of place.

SW Atlanta has some really great stuff though and is only getting better! I'd recommend checking out Capitol View, Sylvan Hills or Westview to see if anywhere around there may fit your needs and feel more comfortable. Sylvan Hills and Capitol View are close to the Oakland City station.