Where to settle?

In my opinion a number of factors need to be taken into consideration when choosing a place to live.  I think you need to be really honest with yourself about your personal preferences and what you are looking for in your prospective home town.  

Some questions you might want to answer:
* Do you want to live in a city or town?
* Do you have a job, and if so where is it located?
* What is your budget for accommodation?
* Do you have family or friends that you would like to live near to?
* Do you need to be within commutable distance to any specific area?
* Are schools important?
* Are transport links important?
* Does weather or climate play a role in your decision?
* What specific amenities are you looking for in your city or town?
* What kind of housing would you like?
* Do you have hobbies or sporting activities you need to consider?

For us it came down to these specific things:
*We don't like living in a city, so we want to settle in either a village or a town.

* It needs to be a relatively easy commute to London as Grant will probably need to spend at least a few days per week in London 

* We want to live in a house with a little garden, not a flat, so housing prices need to be within our budget

* We like an attractive, countrified landscape

* We wanted at least a couple of restaurants and somewhere to get a cup of coffee a short drive away

* We are very keen walkers, so there have to be some nice walks nearby

* The extended family is hoping to settle in the same town, so good schools are a priority

* we need some suitable activities in close proximity for the children

*  Rox and Jon are church-goers so they need some options for church in the area

*  We would like the town to be on a good bus route to some reasonable shops and medical facilities as it's likely I won't have a car

*  It would be ideal if there was another city, apart from London, in commuting distance, so that it would open up more job opportunities for Grant and Jonathan.

Looking at all of these factors, a couple of towns fitted the bill.  Royal Tunbridge Wells (we were thinking of settling in one of the villages nearby), Twyford, Haywards Heath, Burgess Hill, Saffron Walden and Tring were the ones that stood out for us. We have done a lot of research on all of these towns and Roxy, Grant and I will be going to the UK soon to have a proper look at a couple of them.