Please recommend where you live!

I think the Coast Hopper now only goes as far as Cromer Pamela.

Oh that looks lovely crafter. No contest!

yes Jalima, I think I would buy it myself if I had the funds LOL. We live a bit further north.

I'm surprised that that hasn't been on Escape to the Country!

Just outside Lockerbie. I dont live there but 4 beds 190,000 looks pretty www.primelocation.com/for-sale/details/45988410?search_identifier=3596e70b93d3cf60f10a3fb472ace762

I don't think you would find anything like that in NfK's link in Monmouthshire, Gloucestershire or Herefordshire for £200,000

Yep Nfk, not too far from the sea.
We are further west and the bus services have been rearranged so now only a service to Norwich or KL every 2 hours. That could make a difference to life after driving. Does the coasthopper go to NWalsham?

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-74789324.html

Like this?

Plenty of properties on the Isle of Wight for that price range.

but look out for dragons!
and road signs in Welsh!

Sorry, just noticed your price range. Sussex probably not achievable except for possibly Worthing, Hastings, Battle, Littlehampton, Shoreham, Bexhill on Sea (and mostly flats).

I'd choose Sussex (East Sussex and some cheaper areas of West Sussex). It's not by any means as cheap as many of the places mentioned here (eg Wales, Northumberland, East Anglia, etc) but it is still cheaper than many of the Home Counties.

Sussex has a very good climate and boasts the highest number of sunny days. There are lovely beaches, beautiful downs and some quaint towns and villages.

I don't live there now but, were it not for the fact that our family lives in London and Suffolk, we would move back to Sussex.

If you want to go somewhere much cheaper, I think I would opt for somewhere like Honiton in Devon or Swansea.

I understand,keeping the best untill last ? ???????

We love Wales! We are country lovers and although I was born and grew up in London, I would never go back and just feel where we live now is becoming more and more built up and commuter belt, which we don’t want or need.
Loving all the suggestions, some of which I hadn’t thought of. Thanks so much. We’re in no rush but it helps to think through all the implications and have fun planning the future!

Hmmn, let me see....how about Wales?
Always sunny and dry and someone singing somewhere ( but look out for dragons!)

And of course there’s wonderful Wales. Especially the south. (I’ve not been to the north!)

Huh, no one has said Wales ! ???????

We moved a year ago from a bustling city in Essex to a small village in Norfolk.

Best thing ever!

Our village has all the necessary conveniences . You can easily get a property for under £200,000 depending what you want. Down the A11 or A14 corridor gives you easy access out of the county too.

I can second Somerset, lived here my entire life. Rural yet central to all amenities and affordable. We are in a lovely village on the main A38 and can be at the motorway in either direction within a few minutes yet look out on to open fields from our house, perfect combination!

We moved to Beverley in East Yorkshire nearly 30 years ago when I transferred out of London. For the price of a one-bedroomed flat in a fairly rundown part of London, we bought a three-bedroomed semi on the outskirts of a very pleasant, very compact, mainly Georgian market town with the Yorkshire Wolds on the doorstep and the North Yorks Moors less than two hours' drive away. There are trains and buses to Hull (which has two theatres, a massive concert hall, art gallery which hosted last year's Turner Prize and fringe events), Bridlington and Scarborough. I don't know how the prices would compare today but we've never regretted it.

North Northumberland or Scottish borders

Oh wonderful -which bit Faye?

I live in the USA.

As Merlogran says, East Anglia.
Nice villages around Peterborough, where you should get something nice for your budget.
Peterborough itself provides loads of amenities, easy access north/south, trains, etc,
It’s great to be somewhere rural, but access to amenities is important - doctors, hospitals, entertainment/ shopping etc that make life easier.

The Cotswolds are lovely.