I live in Brunswick on Syndey Road, have been here for 6 years. Avoid street level residences, aim for an apartment. This will keep you up off the street, as Melbourne (particulaly the inner suburbs) have a meth and homelessness issue. You'll hear them yodel around at odd hours, and verbally cuss themselves out lol, but staying off street level means it's just entertainment (dark humour sorry).

Otherwise I love it here. Everything is walking distance, close enough to the CBD without it being a hassle, Sydney road street party is great fun, always something artsy or niche to attend, lots of gigs, trivia nights, foods, etc.

From your list I'm guessing you want affordable, decent PT, and close enough to Things to Do? Consider Niddrie. Nobody has ever heard of it

Preston is weird. The western part is and has been predominantly residential and pretty nice. However, East Preston is still industrial and also has a lot of 'social housing', so pick which bit carefully. The border betwen east and west runs down the railway line pretty much. It's close to places like Northland if you like big shopping malls. It also has ongoing environmental pollution issues due to past heavy industry and chemical spills etc. So if you are purchasing, consider getting soil tests done. Parts also have some issues with termites but the council has been getting on top of those pretty well over the last 10 years or so.

Avoid the West.

Coburg is great.