We moved from about 6km from Melbourne (Northcote) to about 65km from Melbourne (Woodend).

Best thing we ever did.

Woodend is beautiful, very community-oriented and there are heaps of treechangers who've moved from the city in the last couple of years so basically most people you meet are up for making friends or are friendly. The cafes are better than in Northcote (I thought I'd miss them) and we have an awesome playground. We've always got an appointment with the GP on the day we've called. We have everything we need in terms of supermarkets and for basics (Target). Our DDs don't go to school yet but apparently both primary schools here are excellent.

In terms of jobs, there are a few options. The commute to Melbourne is about an hour BUT this is on a VLine train with a big, comfy seat. Nothing like commuting on a suburban train where you are crammed in like a sardine. We are also about an hour from Bendigo. If neither of those options appealed, then it's worth keeping an eye out on council jobs - we have about five councils that I would consider as they are within about an hour commuting distance. Some are a lot closer than that - the local council has jobs 10 mins away for example.

I guess the only cons are that we're a bit far from a big shopping centre if that's your thing, but I'm really happy to make that sacrifice.