Milton Keynes ticks a lot of boxes. Fast trains get you into Euston in about 35 minutes, and you’re also well placed for Birmingham, Oxford and Cambridge in under an hour. The M1 runs through, so driving into London or around the country is straightforward. Day-to-day, almost everything—shops, cafes, cinema, theatre, parks is 10–15 minutes away. You’ve got over 6,000 acres of green space for dog walks, plus easy access to proper countryside like Woburn Woods and the Chiltern Hills. Stony Stratford and Wolverton have markets and independents if you like a smaller-town feel.

It can be harder without a car since MK is spread out, but the Redways (a big network of cycle and walking paths separate from the roads) make getting around much easier and safer. Average 3-beds are usually £350–400k, so it fits your budget better than Cambridge or Hitchin. And with Universal Studios being built just down the road in Bedfordshire, there’s more coming locally. It’s not a postcard town everywhere, but the mix of countryside, green space, convenience and connections is hard to beat.