Where in the UK might fit our needs?

As I mentioned in my introductory post, my family is interested in spending some time living in the UK to see if it might be somewhere we want to put roots down while our kids(s) grow up and get off to college. 

While we'd certainly rent when we first come over, we'd like to rent in the general proximity of a place that would suit our needs.  I'd like to outline the kind of area we would be interested in along with some criteria and hopefully someone could recommend some more specific places to look.  We'd certainly appreciate any feedback.  We also understand that one can't have everything and compromises will likely need to be made.

Housing:  We need at least a 4 bedroom detached house with a large fenced backyard for 2 large dogs and 2 kids to play.  We'd prefer to be in a smaller town/village and the more private of a location the better.  We'd happily accept more land and even a smaller house if it could be enlarged over time.  The price for this property would need to be less than £180K.

Crime:  We're quite concerned about the crime that we hear about in the UK.  With a petite wife and young daughter, I'd like an area with a low rate of violent crime (assault, rape).

Weather:  The weather where we live now in Germany suits us perfectly.  Mainly, because it's the sunniest area in the country.  We can deal with cold, but sunshine is important. Drier the better.

Schools:  An area with decent public schools for the wee ones.

Jobs:  An area with a lower unemployment rate is good.  Jobs don't have to be high paying.  My wife has a uni degree in International Business and speaks 5 languages.  She likes HR work.  An area that she might be able to find work in that field would be great.  Alternatively, she'd like to work in a flower shop.     I'm self-employed and can work from anywhere.

Medical:  Good access to a medical center/hospital.  A great rheumatology dept is a big plus. 

So a sunny place with decent schools where no one is going to kill us, a cute house with big yard in a village that is within commuting distance of a bigger town (I'm thinking 50-75K?) with some HR jobs.  We don't care about nightlife or fancy shopping. 

Based on my own research, it seems we'd be looking in South or Eastern England based on weather, but that's still a pretty big area.  What towns might suit us best based on the other criteria?  Also, my wife loved Chester but I think it's probably too expensive there and being Northwest seems it would be a very cold, rainy area.  Is that a fair assessment?  I think the amount we have to spend on the house will be the biggest limiting factor.  I can look up a lot of the statistics separately thanks to some very helpful links I've found on other threads, but nothing like a local to kind of help put everything in perspective. 

Many thanks in advance for any advice or recommendations.

Cheers,
Alistair

Well, I'm supremely  because I want to move there one day, but I'd go with somewhere in Northumberland. Morpeth's close enough to commute to Newcastle if your wife wanted to do that. You're more likely to find a detached house up there than in a city but for under 180k? I'm not sure.

I'd recommend looking at the East Midlands or Yorkshire for a start (neither are super sunny, but most places in the UK aren't regularly sunny- it's just not that kind of country!).  Your house price requirements means you'll really struggle to find something suitable in the South East, unless you compromise significantly.  I think the North West might be too rainy for you- wrong side of the Pennines!

A four-bedroom house for under £180K, low unemployment and lots of sunshine? My first reaction is - NOWHERE. 

Sorry to be flippant. Unemployment is high here, as it is in a lot of countries, at the moment. There's no getting around that. And, yes, we probably do get warmer days and more sunshine in the south than up north, but it's not Florida, if that's the sort of weather you're looking for. As for property prices, I have a feeling it's going to be tough. While property prices are low here compared with a year or so ago, they're still not that low. Have a look at Right Move - it might help you get an idea of what prices are like in various parts of the country.

Best of luck! 

A 4-bed detached for under £180k - good luck with that.

There are places you can do that, we saw one in an outlying area of Barnsley advertised for £150 but the interest was so big as that was a bargain even around here, and this area is cheaper than average for housing. But employment prospects aren't the best, crime - no worse than other places I guess. Sun - not great, hope we get much this summer than last for DW's sake.

We are in commutable distance by train to both Sheffield and Leeds though.

Hampshire is probably your best bet.  Southern, warmer than Northern areas.  Near the coast - near London ( 1 hour drive ).  You will be on the edge of the London belt.  More employment etc.. On the money you are prepared to pay for a 4 bed house, it is achievable, but certainly would not be remote and houses will possibly not be in that nice a area or in that great condition 

Here is a good site to work out housing values.

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/find.html?locationIdentifier=REGION%5E61303&sortByPriceDescending=false&minBedrooms=4&maxBedrooms=5

Good luck 

I'm in the Southeast, in supposedly the sunniest bit of the UK (the Southwest is warmer but wetter, so I've heard). I find the area remarkable for its really beautiful...clouds. Seriously. It's overcast more often than not (though, to be fair, most of the time I've spent here has been in the Autumn and Winter).

And I would guess a four-bedroom detached with a nice bit of garden is going to start well over £300 here. We looked at property in this area for years before we found something we could afford.

Alistair, do you have a military background? I only ask because you are living in Germany.  If that interests you, hampshire has lots of military and naval history  

I find the farther south you go, the higher the house prices.

I find the farther south you go, the higher the house prices.

It has its more expensive areas, that for sure.  I find it all relative.  Wages are higher down South also, so I don't think living standards are compromised.

Thanks for all the replies so far!  I want to hear them all, positive and negative.  Let me clarify the sunshine bit.  Where we live in Germany we get 1438 hours of sunshine per year, which is perfect for us.  The town of Eastbourne in South England for example gets 1815!  So it would seem SE England would average out to be about what we would hope for.  Even up in Cambridge they get almost the exact amount of sunshine hours we have here, though it may be spread out differently.

Regarding the house price, I realize that's not necessarily a lot for the UK (gets ya a nice place on the continent though).  But I've been surfing Homes24.co.uk and it seems I don't have any trouble finding 4 bedroom detached homes in that price range in different towns.  Trouble is I just don't know anything about all these different towns or what employment might be like.  As an example, I found 29 houses in our price range within 25 miles of the city of Ipswich. 

Here's one that looks suitable for £149K:  http://www.homes24.co.uk/property/homes-for-sale/4-bedroom-house-detached-brandon-suffolk-811797

or this one at £180K:  http://www.homes24.co.uk/property/homes-for-sale/4-bedroom-house-detached-carlton-colville-lowestoft-suffolk-nr33-597486

But maybe Ipswich or Norwich are really crappy areas of England for some reason?

@DuckyFuzz, thanks I'll do some online searches in the Hampshire area and see what I turn up!  Nope, no military background but I am a history buff of all types.

It has its more expensive areas, that for sure.  I find it all relative.  Wages are higher down South also, so I don't think living standards are compromised.

This is true, though it can be daunting for someone from up north to think about making a jump down south when they first look at the house prices!

Seems like you really pay a huge premium going from a semi-detached house to a fully detached house.  Even if the detached houses are only 5 inches apart. 

Hampshire is probably your best bet.  Southern, warmer than Northern areas.  Near the coast - near London ( 1 hour drive ).  You will be on the edge of the London belt.  More employment etc.. On the money you are prepared to pay for a 4 bed house, it is achievable, but certainly would not be remote and houses will possibly not be in that nice a area or in that great condition 

Here is a good site to work out housing values.

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/find.html?locationIdentifier=REGION%5E61303&sortByPriceDescending=false&minBedrooms=4&maxBedrooms=5

Good luck 

Hampshire is a fairly big county.
DuckyFuzz I believe that I live somewhat close to you-there is no way that £180K will stretch to a 4 bedroom house in my neck of the woods.  Believe me, I wish it would.  Around me £180K will buy a 2 bed ex-council terraced house. 

My uncle is selling his 4-bedroom detached house in Leicester - but I think he's asking in the area of around £220,000 and the 4th bedroom is a box room!  It could be a single bedroom though...he lives in a quiet neighbourhood, but that's about all I can tell you about the area itself.  PM me if you want more info, but it IS in the East Midlands!!