I'd massively appreciate any good advice on market/small towns to bring up kids - we are planning to move out of London with our three young DC. Two school age, one baby. We feel it's time for a different pace of life! Things too frantic and expensive in London. We would have a budget of up to around 600 and would need a 4 bed house, with large garden - that has to be one of the perks; we really want them to have loads of outside space. And we need good primary school options plus secondary - DS will be going in a couple of years. I really like idea of countryside but also know that kids as teenagers will be better off being somewhere where they can have some independence, so a small town where they can have that freedom would be ideal ...
DH would only have to commute a couple of days a week to London so doesn't matter too much about that - but I guess ideally we'd be no more than 1.5 hrs away on train.
Would like to live somewhere vibrant, friendly - doesn't really matter if it's quite small.
So far thinking places like Saffron Walden/Bury St Edmunds/Colchester; also possibly places like Whitstable/Hastings. You can see I've not narrowed down search much! 
Anyone like to pitch me their home town?!