Where to live in England? (Young family of 3)

We are thinking of moving back to the UK, but most likely England this time. DH is Scottish, so this would be new territory for both of us! He has a job based in London, but can work from home. He would only really need to go into the office several times a month, if that.

So our options for where to live are very open, as long as DH's work is accessible by public transport.

Here in the States, we rent a single family house for the equivalent of £900/month, so that is our desired range for a rental, give or take a hundred or so. I stay home with our son, so ideally we'd be looking for a reasonably-priced area that is also safe and pleasant. Even better would be a village with a walkable, charming downtown area.

Any suggestions would be wonderful. We are going into this somewhat blindly. 

Somewhere like Bishop's Stortford would fit the bill. It's an easy commute to London, pleasant market town with a good range of properties in your price range.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bishop's_Stortford

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-to-rent/Bishops-Stortford.html?maxPrice=1000

I think South Manchester is a great place for families.

The train to London is 2 hours 8 minutes.  My BFF works in London 2 or 3 days a week most weeks and finds it a reasonable journey.