In reply to matron:
my personal recomendation would be Penrith, its much less touristy than Kendal, house prices are significantly lower, and - my own view - its much more a part of its locality that Kendal, which (to me) felt a bit like an outpost of fashionable Manchester in the Lakes, rather like being a town in Cumbria, as opposed to being than being a town of Cumbria...
that said, they are worse places to live than Kendal. most places in fact would be worse places to live than Kendal...
the big, crunchy issue is where you're going to be able to find work - living in Penrith gives easy access to Carlisle and Dumfries, less easy access to Newcastle, and while i know quite a few people who live in Penrith who work down the M6 in Lancaster and Preston, or over the A66 in Darlington, they are people who find themselves affected by winter road closures. they - and their employers - know that they simply won't turn up for work, or will be late, or have to leave early, for a good number of days during the winter. and winter in Cumbria goes from early December to late April...
given what your partner does for a living, i'm slightly wondering if Carlisle might not be a better bet - while there undoutedly will be private tutition work in Penrith, or Kendal, and the huge areas around them, i'd be a bit concerned that what income he makes might be eaten up by all the travelling he'd have to do.