Hey man, I've been living here for 8 years now, coming from a smaller city in western Santa Catarina, and can vouch for Floripa's as a safe city. That is specially true if you are coming to study at UFSC and intends to live close to the University. I used to live there, at the Trindade neighborhood, and never had any troubles, even when going out late at night.
Also, I've never had any troubles when going to any of the beach neighborhoods, though i always went to those places during the day, for obvious reasons.
Cheers mate!
