I live on the northside but a good 35 minutes drive north of Virginia (not in peak hour).The further north you go, the cheaper the rentals will be so it depends on how far you are willing to travel. I don't know too many of the public schools, sorry, I am mostly familiar with the secondary schools. There are quite a few public schools with a good rep at the junction of Bald Hills / Bracken Ridge, and the rent is reasonable out that way. I like the area (used to live there) and especially liked the fact that it is near the junction of Gympie Road and the Gateway so it's easy to travel on the major arterial roads.

HTH