We moved to Oxfordshire from Wimbledon two years ago. We haven't regretted it, but one thing you have to swallow is the fact that house prices in London are constantly in the news, and going up faster than everywhere else ... Even Oxford hot spots! So get ready for that ... It's in the news weekly and you can't avoid it.
Having said that we love it here.
Downsides are being tarred with the ' from London' brush by some people; the roads are awful both in quality and in congestion terms ... Worse than the S Circular! ....I have missed the buzz of London and do go up a bit when I can, but that urge is lessening... Oxford has a buzz ....
Upsides. Well, just plain quality of life. Space. Calmness. People have more time to chat and be pleasant. My child enjoys the outdoors much more, and there is less hysteria around schools! You can wander around the Cotswolds at weekends easily. Bit of a change from Richmond Park.
Think hard if you want village or town ... I've found the change to village hard. Even if the people are nice, there is a bit of nosiness which after the anonymity of Wimbledon can be irritating, or even feel interfering. I might adapt to it as there are upsides, like being part of a community, and being invite round to strangers houses. But the jury is out on that.
Didcot is good for commuting. Downside is the town itself is nothing to write home about. Some of the villages are lovely, but costly. You might be surprised how expensive the nice villages actually are. There are lots of London relocators which keeps prices quite high!
Blewbury, East Hendred ..... Very nice.
Look at senior schools first though and really do your homework ... We have ended up in a bit of a mess having not done that properly! No good buying and then finding your first choice of senior school is an hour and a half away by school bus ... Or worse in your car!
Good Luck. It's difficult but we believe worth it in the end!