hi ghosty. its difficult sometimes to find the energy to start again isnt' it?! i'm sure you'll enjoy Melbourne though - its a lovely city.
we lived in Middle Park and if you're renting i'd definitely recommend it (if you're buying you'll need deep pockets - very expensive ). its a lovely area with loads of families and a couple of nice little shopping areas with great cafes. you're right by the beach (such as it is in Melbourne) and you've got Albert Park nearby. some fab playgrounds nearby(including a fantastic community adventure playground in St Kilda). there were a couple of lovely looking pre-schools nearby, but we werent' there long enough to check them out . and you're on the tramline into town (about 25mins to the centre, closer to Southbank). oh, and South Melbourne Markets are fantastic for the weekly shop - fruit & veg, butchers, fishmongers, delis, specialty stalls etc all under one roof. the only thing i'd say is there isn't really a big mix of people there - it was very different from East London where we come from. but Melbourne really is a very multicultural place as far as Australia is concerned and you can find the variety in other suburbs.
i found the city to have a lovely relaxed feel to it. there always seemed to be lots of events going on - we were lucky to be there when the Commonwealth Games were on and went to the Grand Prix too, which was an experience (and could walk to it in 5 mins from our front door), and people were friendly. some lovely museums to visit with little ones and the aquarium is great.
oh, i miss Melbourne [sigh].
as for being bumped up a waiting list, when i was thinking about pre-schools i was told to mention i had moved to the area from overseas - apparantly you may get put closer to the top of any waiting list for that school. however, no experience myself, so dont know if this is the case everywhere.
let me know if you've got any other questions i can help with and good luck getting ready for the move.