Hi Ally
we live in the hills too and absolutely love it. we did go through a stage after black saturday where we got very spooked and were seriousley considering selling up, but once we started looking at alternatives we realised just how good we have it up here and fell back in love with the place. we live on the other side of the hill to where you are looking and dh works in the city quite a lot. he drives along canterbury rd onto eastlink, and doesn't find it too bad. the only problem is the roundabout at montrose gets quite congested at around 4-5pm.
i think you will love it up here. kazbah is right that it is a real 'community'. i am always meeting people at the playground/park/bakery. everyone is up for a chat. it's great.
there is a montessori kinder in mt evelyn if that is what you were looking for?
my kids just love it up here. we have resident kookaburras and even an echidna. i think it's a wonderful place for kids to grow up.