Maybe consider renting first so you don't buy anything on an impulse and find it's not so nice in Summer with all the tourists or in winter with all the winds etc.. I've just come back from a weekend in Padstow which was gorgeous but SO expensive to buy in because of all the second homers. What must it be like in winter when they're all empty properties?? In Northumberland, which is beautiful and where I was in July, they have put a cap on the number of properties able to be sold to second homers for that very reason - it kills a town out of season. On my way home from Cornwall, I spent a couple of nights in East Devon (cheaper than North or South Devon), in the countryside outside Exeter, which was lovely. I live in Kent but my heart is in North Yorkshire. Why not ring up agents in the main towns you might like to be near (eg York or Monmouth or Pembroke or Norwich), tell them what your requirements are and ask them to send you all they've got, then compare value-for money in each area. Alternatively, use something like SisterStay to visit new areas and get first hand knowledge from local residents about where is loveliest to live. Good luck!
