I carry safety on with any firearm featuring an external safety.  I disengage the safety as I draw.  If you aren't comfortable disengaging the safety on your carry gun, perhaps you should spend more time training with it.

OP, you are going to get a ton of advise in here.  There are a lot of folks that will scare you into a world "Utilizing a safety is a death trap" mentality.  However, there are a many pistols on the market with manual safeties.  You will also find just as many pistols designed to not have manual safety and rely on the pressing of the trigger to disengage the Firing Pin Block.  With that being said, if the pistol you decide to go with (In your case being a Bersa with a safety) has a manual safety, I think carrying the pistol with the safety engaged, like it was designed to be, is a good starting point.  

Do yourself a favor, and take a few courses with your pistol.  Beginners course, then a defensive course and so on and so on.  You will find that shooting static at the range is a lot different than safely and effectively "employing" a pistol in an self defense situation.  Learn to use the platform you have invested in as it was designed.  Down the road if you find that you like the way a Glock or a S&W M&P feel or shoot and you make the transition to one of them, then you learn that platform.  

Everything comes with time.  So look up some classes in your area, sign up for one.  Then practice to the level of your training.  The High Speed Low Drag mentality can get you hurt, it takes time to get there.  The Chris Costas', Travis Haley's and Instructor Zero's of the world, they are professionals with "CHINGOS" of trigger time and real world experience.  The rest of us peons learn from guys like them.  

Stay safe, and always Trust Your Training.