Where to move to?

Dear all,
Thank you all SO much for all your wonderful suggestions. I am overwhelmed by the kindness of strangers. I apologise for this long overdue thanks - I have been deeply depressed about the loss of my daughter and did not feel upto coming online.

I will go through the responses another time and get back with any questions.

Thank you all again.

We are in the Scottish Borders. Less than an hour from the coast, from Edinburgh, the airport, and beautiful countryside. The Border towns still have small shops, doctors, hospitals etc and good public transport links. Can't promise warm weather but the houses are cheaper than anything you'll find in the south of England.
I'm not moving!

Somerset - lovely countryside, cities ( Wells & Bath in particular ) not far from the sea & of course Bristol airport. What's not to like.

I think this is a wind up, I think Slough was the clue.

Exeter has an international airport as does Bristol who offer more destinations.

Never been to Slough so can't comment.
We are very happy in beautiful Anglesey, it's only about 24 miles wide so you're never more than 12 miles from a lovely beach. It's hummocky rather than mountainous so nice for walking but you can see Snowdonia from just about everywhere. Lots of great restaurants and bars but no fairgrounds and arcades. Huge variety of property types with or without land at reasonable prices. A few cinemas, a small theatre, lots of galleries. Seems quiet but every village makes its own entertainment especially in winter when the holidaymakers have gone, pantomimes, craft fairs, car boot sales, barn dances, never a dull moment or very quiet, personal choice.
In the gulf stream so pretty mild climate although it can be windy.
All that and only an hour to an hour and twenty to Liverpool Airport and one and a half to almost two hours to Manchester depending on which side of the island you live.
Regular ferries to Ireland too.

Bristol.....

We have just bought a second home in Weymouth, Dorset. Fantastic scenery, gorgeous countryside and beautiful seasides. Dorset came top in a newspaper poll this week of most popular places to retire to. Southampton airport not too far away. Only downside (?) no motorway in county!

Newquay:
fair comment but the noisey ones are there for a maximum of three months of the year.
Maybe I should have said a little bit away from Newquay maybe Quintrell Downs which has
rail line and a small-ish airport and its a lot warmer.

Slough!!
I grew up in a village near Slough and went to school there.
Despite the industrial estate there were many pretty country areas and all was on a human scale.
But I wouldn't want to live there now, on very rare trips back , it is unrecognisable, huge and terrifying.

infoman

Newquay for me,rail line and a small-ish airport and its a lot warmer.

Newquay? Last time I went to Cornwall and stayed there it was an absolute hole! Full of youths, noise, litter and naff shops bars and amusement arcades .... I went as a child and it was lovely, overlooking Fistral Beach - this time we were kept up all night with kids drinking and being loud on the lovely beach, it was horrid

It's impossible to recommend anywhere without knowing your budget. A country home in Surrey or Sussex will be much more expensive than Norfolk or example, but Norfolk, while lovely, is not particularly accessible. Of the places you mention I'd probably choose the Cotswolds if I could afford it. Watching Escape to the Country might give you better idea of what's available across UK.

Newquay for me,rail line and a small-ish airport and its a lot warmer.

The Wye Valley is stunningly beautiful sillyold, but don't go telling everyone about it! We like it as it is!

I lived in Bray near Maidenhead as a child, Slough not so great. I now live in the Meon Valley in Hampshire, very beautiful. If I had to move I would love the Wye Valley, Dorset or the Weald of Kent where I was born.

Slough??? Or Sluff, as it was generally known as! So many beautiful places to choose from. Personally, I love Kent, Sussex, Suffolk, Norfolk, Somerset, Dorset, Devon, Cornwall. Depends on how much you have to spend on a property really.

Daftbag1: I live in a village called Pratts Bottom . My Mum used to tell people that I lived 'near Knockholt' as she was embarrassed by the name! .

When my sister lived in Slough, my Mum used to tell everyone she lived just outside Windsor!

Suffolk is lovely and near to Stansted airport. Lots of lovely coastline and good rail links to London if needed. Mid way to Bury St Edmunds is ideal as it’s a lovely town for shopping and entertainment so lots of lovely surrounding villages available.

North Wales is lovely, near to Chester and Liverpool. Manchester and Liverpool Airports are near too.Ever considered the lovely county of Cumbria, easily accessible to Manchester Airport.Good Luck with the move.

Agree Jan16, Norfolk is a great place to live!

If you want to be near Slough look at Maidenhead, High Wycombe and surrounding villages

Stoke Poges is close to Slough and that's a very nice area.

How have you managed to include 'Slough' with all those other lovely places - it's surely a typo!!

Somerset. Lovely rural settings, numerous beaches, beautiful Exmoor, Blackdown and Mendip hills and with easy access to Bristol airport.

we moved to west sussex a year ago now living a 30 min drive to the coast and Gatwick airport, the M25 35 mins to get to Heathrow. so much to see and explore we are both in our 60's and love it here.