Don't assume that, because you prefer living in a city, that anyone who doesn't is ignorant. There are lots of people that know exactly what living in a city is like and far prefer to not do so (and vice versa).
The majority of people I've personally met who didn't like cities didn't like them because they didn't feel like they were safe. They're literally scared of people
Not a single person I've spoken to (that doesn't want to live in a city) has cited safety as a concern. That's probably because we've all worked in a city and know there are good areas and bad.