Agree about renting - we sold our house in Herts and rented near Elgin for a year before we found our home.
Before that we'd done the trek north to view - one especially memorable trip was to view a farm in Aberdeenshire and we had to view it at very short notice. We, and 3 Boxers, spent an interesting couple of days camping at Aboyne in March - to say it was chilly would be a typical British understatement. The drive there & back was nearly 1200 miles, we made an offer but the owners sold it to someone else.
After that we moved up here & it made the search for a new home so much easier.
Moray is nice - the weather is less extreme than either further west or east. Prices have rocketed recently around here. Not sure about general cost of living cheapness - it costs more to get things sent here by courier, a trip to the nearest nice pub is 10 miles, the nearest supermarket is 12 miles, the nearest city is 40 miles... However the quality of life is wonderful, our village is welcoming and friendly and should we need any help any one of our neighbours would come running. We've found a great place to call home.
Have a look at the Solicitor Property Centres - up here solicitors do the estate agency as well as the legal side.
See:http://www.sspc.co.uk/
There are specific property centres for Highland, Moray and Aberdeen, other areas are available.
Good luck with your search.
Sue