Officer is unfortunately on the outskirts and is pretty new but rent etc would be cheaper. Glen Waverly and the surrounding suburbs would be good if you want good schools etc but it will be costly living-wise. Endeavor hills and Keysborough are good if you don't rely on public transport.

 

Officer is located about 50km SE of the Melbourne CBD, you don't say whether you are looking for 30-45 mins by car or train. but I would concur with cdshan that you are probably going to want to find some place in the SE suburbs ; probably East of Glen Waverlely, or Oakleign at a pinch . If planning on driving to work, your husband would have the advantage of going against the general traffic flow.

Alternatively, you could even go out as far as perhaps Warrigul or maybe even Trafalgar, once both had a country town feel, haven't been out that way for a long time, so I can't really comment on how suburbanized they have become.


As to schools, you don't indicate the age of your children, but this ranking may help..

Victoria School Rankings

bettereducation.com.au

 

Apart from the suggestions already put forward by others, I think Berwick would be a good option for you as it is very close to Officer and has some good schools including Nossal High which is a selective secondary school. It's a safe, family-friendly nice suburb with a mix of new estate and old historic buildings.