Thanks again for the ideas guys - I really don't mind where we live, but the house is important... I want a nice conducive environment with little distractions so I can get stuck into coding

Linda - Lush, but they are way out of my budget (tho I do love Oxford).

South Somerset, North Dorset and West Wiltshire are reasonable value. Not quite in the 2 hr to London, not quite coastal and not quite Bath and Bristol catchment.

There are Waitrose branches about and M&S at Yeovil, Bristol and Bath.

I'm not sure whether I'm south or not (Fairly I think?) but Leicestershire is a lovely place to live. There are lots of beautiful little villages to live in (some of the houses around here are to die for) miles of fields and depending on where you live, you can have the country life without being too far from a city or town It's also only an hour or so from London with frequent trains.

The price for renting here can be quite steep but you can find some real gems if you spend a while looking around To give you some perspective, my mum rents a large, 4 bedroomed house out in a small town within walking distance of the town centre and charges £600 per month.

Cambridge is nice. If you go a bit further up into the fens and bordering Norfolk there are some nice out of the way places.

My brother and his wife bought a bungalow in Downham Market it was a good price and is near a nice little village walking distance and Kings Lynn if you want a larger town driving distance. Not sure of rental prices.

Cambridge is wonderful to wander round and has the corn exchange for entertainment and a great market on Saturdays. It can be busy though with all the students and tourists.

http://www.findaproperty.com/houses-...00&furnished=1

http://www.findaproperty.com/houses-...00&furnished=1

There were a couple in Norfolk I wouldn't ind renting. Can't guarantee the weather though sorry.

Essex is the driest county.
But the cost of spray tan makes it a bit pricey.

How many bedrooms do you need and do you want pets to be allowed?

Do you like Devon? Waitrose around 5.5 miles away.

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-...-37885019.html

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-...-36876938.html

Waitrose around 18 miles away in Torquay.

cornwall is a wonderful place to live always raining but hey ho we are a hardy lot down here , why dont you come down for a holiday have a look around , avoid St Ives around summer time its always very busy , good luck with your move ,we are thinking of Spain lol Petrina

Thanks for the info guys!

Some nice properties there too (already seen the ones you posted Linda )

Having second thoughts about renting tho - will it be a waste of money? Not sure what to do now

Agree with Claire