Family-friendly towns in England

[DimPrawn]

Swindon is nice this time of year.

[bobspud]

It's at the top of my list if anything comes up at Hinckley Point.

Never depend on working locally down here. The rates are crap. I generally work in London or Reading or up the M5 towards Birmingham. Although that said several of the larger integration firms have work from home rules so I have done my current gig and my new one mostly sat at home. It's all commutable.

[Paddy]

That's a rubbish area. Parts of Weeke and Stanmore in Winchester are to be avoided.

"Unlike most Brits, I practice the Germanic habit of saving and not living beyond my means. "

Only trying to help mate.

Ex council house...

[Joeman]

I know that every time this question pops up, it elicits a deluge of cynicism, but I'd like to get some advice on family-friendly towns in SW England, preferably, between the M3 and M4 corridor. I live in the Continent, but my expecting wife is British. We've thought about relocating to the UK so that my child can get easier access to the grandparents.

My criteria:

-outside London
-IT jobs available
-good public schools
-family-friendly atmosphere
-reasonable house prices <=500K

Any clues?

Sevenoaks...