Going house-hunting in Hamilton soon...

I've browsed these forums and it seems like the only decent suburbs relatively close to Hamilton Central would be Hillcrest, Glenview, and St Andrews?

How about the Hamilton Lake area? I loved the houses there the first time I drove around it (I can't stand the huge wooden fencing that surrounds many of the houses in other areas - staring out my window at a wooden wall is not my idea of relaxation ). Is it a reasonably good area to rent in, in terms of crime safety?