Consider looking at one of the "country" strips as you put it.
You practically can't do circuits at Essendon any more - you have to fly over to Point Cook or somewhere else which will add atleast .4 hours to most lessons. Realistically, if you worked out the total cost, you'd be better off to pay Citylink and drive to Moorabbin in the long run, or better still just drive to Point Cook or a country strip like Melton if you are only going to get a PPL. You can always come back to Essendon for your Commercial if you wanted to. You won't save any cash by living close.