Best place for old folk

My parents (Dad in his early 80s, Mum in late 70s) are looking to return to the UK and looking at places to move to. They're comfortable but certainly not loaded and the price of property in much of SE England is scarey for those not on the ladder (something I'm acutely aware of as a renter).

Interested in advice on good places to live based on the following

More affordable than what you'd typically find in Home Counties
Accessible by public transport with preference for rail (I don't drive). In a perfect world, it would be great if place was readily reachable from London although figure accessibility to London is in inverse relationship with affordability
Good environment - I'm acutely aware of the fact that some parts of UK have been hammered by economic decline outside London/SE which helps with affordability but critics risks for vulnerable elderly
Weather that isn't too bleak

Any suggestions gratefully received...finding that parents' situation is becoming more of a concern now for me and others of my generation and figure others are going to be facing the same question

My partners parents(late 70s) are in the process of moving from York to Market Harborough to be closer to us. Lots of accessible new build places that suited their needs. Good trains into London.
They’re not wealthy at all so budget would have absolutely been a priority when they were looking.
Could be an option?

Would second Ed's suggestion for that part of the world. Also, a friend's parents retired to St Neots (personally I hate that place).

East Midlands - Leicester/Derby/Nottingham.

I'm not sure if this is possible at all, and I obviously don't know your parents or situation but ime get a smaller flat in London. The healthcare provision is much better and having them nearby and being able to pop over after work is really, really helpful.

Interesting, what's so bad about it? I may consider moving there in a few years time, to buy a bigger property as the house prices are cheaper than where I currently am.

I'm not sure if this is possible at all, and I obviously don't know your parents or situation but ime get a smaller flat in London. The healthcare provision is much better and having them nearby and being able to pop over after work is really, really helpful.

Smaller flat in London is out of their price bracket...Mum is from Colchester, Essex and they were looking for housing around there but found the pricing too spicey so downsizing to small London flat unfortunately is not on the cards

Eastbourne ?

I met a lot of racists there, and my mates dad had his mobility scooter stolen from his front porch. Only small incidents I know, but enough to put us off when we were considering leaving London.

Suffolk

Are they in Oz?

I'd go for Suffolk too. Close to your mum's old stomping ground and easy to get to London. Plus, it has lots of lovely places to live.

They're in France currently...long story but they're British, moved to NZ when I was a little one and then retired to France (close but not too close to my Mum's family).

They're now at a stage where mobility is an issue (they live in really rural corner and not confident drivers) and their ropey French means that navigating situations (particularly healthcare) is getting more difficult. They may well end up in Colchester but would imagine if they do head down that path they'll find their living arrangements have to downgrade a lot.

How much £ we talking?

Wallington

Borough of Sutton Wallington? Lived there for a few years before moving to where we are now.

Second this. Lots of Leicestershire is nice but accessible (fast trains to London from Nuneaton (which is admittedly horrible) or Leicester in about an hour.

Look at Burbage, Earl Shilton, Hinckley, also Harborough as above.

I'd imagine under 300K so no King's ransom

My parents are of a similar age and relatively recent moved to Portsmouth. There would be plenty of options in there budget from victorian terraces to flats. it has easy access to london on train and good transport links with buses.

Whatever you do DON’T invite them to live with you, then buy a bigger place to accommodate them. If you do that they will most likely out live you. My advice is strip them of anything that could identify them and drop them off in a wood in Eastern Europe. YMMV.

Norfolk is a nice place to live

I'll PM you Chaley's address...

East Midlands for rail links and affordability but due to their advancing years you may want them closer

EDIT @hazzelfrazzel moved up here from London a few years back because of affordability

Having grown up in Colchester and with parents who still live there, would strongly steer away from a return for your folks

The town is entirely adequate, as it’s always been, but the house prices are absurd given the very minimal vibes you get for your money. It’s in the process of becoming a proper London dormitory town without the core infrastructure to support the expansion that brings.

Source: me, having considered a return to my hometown and then ran far far away

You can buy in Wallington for that, probably a good size one bedroom, it's bland and a bit shit but it's 25m from London bridge, 35m from Victoria. It's got essential shops plus extra, there's a place down the road called carshalton that's genuinely pretty nice and has loads of pubs some of which are excellent. There's loads of parks. If they're ever likely to go into supported accommodation then they can find loads of that in the area too.

Doncaster

They can house swap with me in Lincolnshire

I would suggest you second determining factor after the location/cost of suitable housing is finding somewhere with walkable access to a (good) GP surgery/medical centre
and,
reliable public transport to the local (full service) hospital.

Even with a local pharmacy delivering the mutlipill repeat prescription in prepacked in AM/PM ampoules, I'm surprised by the number of GP visits required by an aged distant neighbour.
(I offer cover for her daughter who still works fulltime).

Even here in LBHillingdon, a friend who suffers from COPD, cannot rely upon the local busses to get him to appointments at Hillingdon Hospital on time, (= cost of an Uber, rather than free through Tfl pass).

Also anecdotally. A friend reports that one of his friends always dreamed of living next to the coast. Retired, from London-ish south east to Bude.
Current medical condition requires visits to either Exeter or Bristol.
Only possible with partner driving.