everybody has there own personal preferences, so my personal preference is different to everybody else.
I live in Monbulk in the Dandenongs, and love it. great small town mentality, everybody knows everybody else, and will always help out, but also a major bonus for me is that I work 3km down the road, and the wife has her own business in town now.
For somebody else, its not got great public transport links, and its just a bit too far from the CBD for most people to happily want to commute, and the bush fire risk is pretty high.
Ill try to give as much info as I can.
The basin, Montrose, lilydale, mount evelyn (and other towns in this area)
Heres the train line from Lilydale
http://ptv.vic.gov.au/assets/Maps/Routes/PDFs/9_Lilydale.pdf
Not 100% on the best route if travelling by car, but expect it might be via the eastlink or even over yarra glen if you will be working near the airport.
plenty of good schools in lilydale that I know of, good ameneties and if you are looking for more trees, scenery, space, I would probably look towards mount evelyn, outer edges of lilydale or even silvan or Seville (but these will make commuting just over an hour)
Ferntree gully, Belgrave, Belgrave south, upwey, tecoma
http://ptv.vic.gov.au/assets/Maps/Routes/PDFs/2_Belgrave.pdf
ferntree gully has nice areas, but upper gully is much greener and is on the edge of the Dandenong ranges. The rest are further up the hill but before you hit the main forest.
again all have decent ameneties close at hand with again decent schools within short distances and good road and train links to the CBD (less than 60 minutes approx.)
all the above mentioned places do have a higher bush fire risk, but not too bad when compared to lots of places further in the hills & ranges.
Belgrave is a bit "hippy" but has some great shops, cafes and bars. It even has its own wizard
if you want to go a bit further into the hills, you then have Kallista, the patch and Monbulk. because of the higher altitude and the hills catching a lot of clouds, temperatures are always lower and rainfall much higher. Winters can be frosty and cold. bushfire risk because of the forest of 100ft tall gum trees.
plus points are lower rents and house prices. lots of 10 acre blocks with houses around $600k and upwards. fantastic views from many properties, wildlife everywhere.
Pakenham, Pakenham upper, Berwick
macclesfield
emerald, cockatoo
don't know too much about the first three to give real detailed info, but they are on the edge of the city sprawl, and Berwick especially is popular with the poms. it has an old town and new town, good road links and reasonable commute to the city. There are dozens of threads about Berwick, so maybe do a search.
Pakenham, Pakenham upper are a little bit further away from the more built up areas, but are going to be very popular in a few years time IMO. again don't know too much, but it is nice and flat there, and very green.
emerald & cockatoo are both firmly seated in the Dandenong ranges. They can be a bit bogan with a few rough characters including a Hell's angel clubhouse in cockatoo, but that's a minority.The bush fire risk is however probably highest in these 2 towns, but all that said, fantastic countryside, real bang for your buck if buying a property, emerald has excellent schools and amenities as well as great sporting amenities as well. I personally wouldn't live in either town because of the bush fire risk being too high, but I have dozens of friends who do live in the towns, and its all part of living in the hills. Here in Monbulk, because its a very large growing community (flowers, plants, fruit & vegetable, we have far more cleared areas, therefor a lower bushfire risk)
Macclesfield is half flat, half hilly, and very horsey. it is a bit more expensive than many surrounding towns, but great views and generally large blocks make it worth the extra.
If I were to move, I think Macclesfield would be one high up the list because the wife loves her horses (but cant afford one ), or otherwise a little bit of acreage out silvan or Seville, but I don't have to worry about commuting and my boys are now 15 and 18 so either driving or very easy about using public transport (they have a 45 minute bus journey to school every day)
drop in on the life in Victoria forum as well. There are members that live in Berwick, the basin etc. they might be able to offer a bit of advice on their areas.