I sympathise. We have oor own 'chavs', but here they're called 'neds' and tend to inhabit forlorn, graffiti covered estates in the less salubrious parts of Glasgow...like Easterhouse, for example, where my poor Maither still dwells...wibblywobbly wrote:I guess that being within travelling distance of Manchester or Grantham would be a bonus, though my daughters and grandchildren are in the Loughborough area. The main consideration is a bit of peace and quiet. My current place is directly under the main flight path for what seems like every aircraft on the planet that start around 5am, has about 5 dogs that bark incessantly (one till midnight and gone), there are two houses planned for the land right next door, the Avon ring road is a stone's throw away and is 'loud', add in the Chav's with their exhausts, the motorcycle speed testers on the ring road, two houses opposite have nine cars between them, every time they slam a door the shockwave goes through every wall, floor and ceiling in my house (that's nine cars x three doors x multiple opening and slamming), the police helicopter that is over the area at low level almost every day at all hours.
..and you can see that if I could buy a shed on a remote Scottish Island I would probably take it!
But much of Scotland, and the border areas (including Cumbria and Northumberland) are relatively chav-free zones.. though you might meet the odd village idiot or lubed-up yokel.... There are stunning properties often at bargain basement prices. Should you be curious about remoter places, here's a link to one of the larger agents in the real North (Scotland..) http://www.hspc.co.uk
In the Inverness area (with rail, air and road links to the rest of the world..) you could get a four-bed detached house for the price you'd pay for a
crappy maisonette in the London area.. I worked in London for 30 years
so I know all the downsides of urban dwelling; but when I got the chance to return to my (earlier) roots...not my immediate Glasgow ones 
..I leapt at the opportunity; in fact i drove away at high speed to it. To misquote that befuddled twerp Boswell, or maybe his pompous pal Dr Johnson: the 'finest prospect a scotchman can even see is..the road leading away from England!!' 
As for noise..well, you can hear your hair grow here 
