Buckingham - insider knowledge required!

[Iveputmyselfonthenaughtystep]

So exh moved me from Oxfordshire to Bedfordshire before ditching me. My family are all in oxon, but the kids' dad is in bedford so I'm moving to split the difference, which puts me in Buckingham or nearby.
Would love to know if all of Buckingham is 'naice' or are there bits where property costs less for a good reason? Would probably prefer a smaller town, as below, for myself, but not ruling out nice suburbs as it would benefit my children as they hit the teenage years.

Also considering smaller towns like Winslow, Steeple Claydon, Waddesdon - anywhere with a bit of life to it (pub, shop, cafe as a bare minimum, pref a market town) and near enough to Buckingham and/or MK to suit when I have teenagers and don't want to be a permanent chauffeur. (So good bus route needed!)

Will need a primary school for a couple of years, too, so guidance on that would be appreciated.

Following as currently looking in this area too! Houses sold before appearing on right move though!

I've lived in the area for 19 years but am in the process of getting ready to move away as we can't afford a bigger house and have outgrown the one we're in.

Most of Buckingham is 'naice' but some estates are less expensive than others. There's no real rough areas. Schools are decent, but all primaries are academies and there's the secondary and grammar schools. Regular buses to MK, Oxford and Aylesbury.

The surrounding villages are pretty pricey, Steeple Claydon is the most reasonably priced and has a small co-op, bakery, doctor's surgery and (private) dentist. Winslow is small market town/large village with plenty of independent shops and pubs but you'd need to go elsewhere for a main weekly food shop. It will have a train station soon on the new East West route - the line is being built at the moment and between that and HS2 it is causing chaos on local roads.

If you're able to go a few miles north, Northamptonshire is significantly cheaper. Towcester is a nice town, and there are some nice villages between there and Buckingham.

Why not MK itself? Is it more expensive?

MK is too big for my tastes. I like a smaller, more rural community.