I am going to address crime first. Use this link: Crime Rate

I have gone everywhere in Greensboro, and there are bad areas like every place, East and south east are the worst, but there are pockets here and there as well. If you are concerned about it, you can also always live in a suburb, Winston-Salem or High-Point. I have never had problem with the crime. If you just pay attention to your surroundings, you will know the areas you don't want to stay at.

Living in Greensboro: Really you want to look at the Triad (Greensboro, High Point and Winston-Salem) as a whole when assessing the area. There are plenty of parks throughout the cities and a nice openness, but be aware these are cities. There are plenty of outdoorsy things to do, like kayak or canoe on one of the lakes with-in city limits or nearby. There are plenty of walking trails, as well as the Guilford Courthouse battlefield. There is also a few nice hiking locations north of Winston-Salem.

We are also getting more into Culture (food/art/you know culture), with a revitalization project for Downtown. Greensboro is a major distribution hub and a good center for manufacturing, but we have the lowest rush hour traffic in the nation (2 minutes extra on average for a commute during rush hour). We are also identified as a college town, with several colleges throughout town (UNCG, NC A&T, Guilford College, Greensboro College, etc...), which there are normally events happening that are fun or entertaining. We have a coliseum that brings in a wide variety of events as well.

Giving the fact that you are on Reddit and use a Star Wars reference, you also might be interested in Geeksboro, it's a fun place with something to appease every geek (board game night, trivia night, movie theater, etc...)

There is a lot to do here, but like any place you have to leave the house to find it.

High Point: High Point borders Greensboro on the west-southwest side. It is the US's center for furniture manufacturing, it is considerable smaller than Greensboro though, but it has a different feel to it. Things aren't as fast paced, but there is still plenty to do (parks, trails, lakes, etc..). They also have an iMax theater (it takes me 15 minutes to get to from Greensboro).

Winston-Salem: Winston has a much bigger culture center, producing movies (annual film festival), but it is identified as a financial center. (Sorry I don't spend much time in Winston).

Kernersville: In-between Greensboro, Winston-Salem, and High Point, but it is very small comparatively, but nice if you don't want any of the places.

Triad as whole: Plenty of work with or without a degree, enough openness to be able to see the sky without buildings, but busy enough to have anything to your hearts desire in terms of food or items. I love it here, and my wife loves it here. (I am from Statesville, and she is from Charlotte).

If you have any questions or concerns, just let me know. If you want a little more information on the business from someone who lives here, let me know the business name. I hope even some of this helps.