I spent a month long honeymoon house-sitting in Hackney last year (not too far from the Town Hall off Mare Street), my best friend was renting a house nearby towards Homerton (she now has her own place near Maryland) so I used to go to the area a lot.

I think it's perceived as being more dodgy than it is (the guy who we were house sitting for had lived in the area for years - returned to North West London, around Harlesden, and within a few weeks he was battered and mugged... in fact, almost everyone I know who's been attacked has had this happen to them in North/North West London).

There are quite a few ethnic groups in the area - I still go there whenever I can to stock up on Vietnamese groceries. But as long as you look confident and don't flash around an overtly expensive looking mobile phone (number one reason to get attacked in London from what I've gathered) and don't get a too nice looking bicycle (the crapper it looks, the more people will leave it alone, thieves seem to have high standards nowadays!) I'm pretty sure you'll be fine.

MrLapLap and I considered the Hackney area for ourselves (there are actually some very nice properties in the area, so don't settle for anything substandard - and make sure you get somewhere where the shower pressure works! Give it a try when looking around) but we lucked out and found somewhere ideal just North of Camden.

Best of luck! It's not the most upscale part of London but it has a pretty good vibe in the summer and it's pretty cheap to dine out compared to other areas.