East or west or north or south Melbourne ?

We are a family of 4 with two little children. So very dependent on childcare , good school zones. We landed in Berwick ( from Auckland, NZ) and I am struggling to find suitable job that fits in daylight hours of 8:30 am and 5:30pm as travelling to and from Berwick stretches my day on both sides. Preparing to switch the suburb any suggestions which part of Melbourne is closest to job hubs like CBD, Richmond, st kilda etc and ofcourse affordable to buy (around 800k mark or bit more stretch on that) also considering schools childcare family living. Is it east or north or west ??!! All inputs will be highly appreciated