Do I really need to get on the property ladder?

As dedicated readers will know(you're out there, I can feel it...), I live in a housing cooperative in a lovely bit of London. It's very cheap, and if I ever multiply (you know what I mean) they will provide appropriate housing, still in the same part of London. I'm a lucky girl.

The housing cooperative I live in affords no right to buy. This I approve of. The right to buy council housing is one of the reasons for the current shortage of affordable housing in the UK.

I could theoretically however buy a property that I could not reasonably live in, and still remain in my cooperative. My job is in London with no possibility of transfer. Thus I could reasonably buy outside of London without compromising my London flat.

This would mean I would have to pay my London rent whilst also paying for a mortgage on a place outside London. I'm not sure I could rent a place outside of London and remain in the cooperative. Buying outside London would potentially have advantages for my extended family (there are various issues to do with care for elderly relatives who live outside London) and I could just about afford it at the moment - low interest rates and no dependents - but it would mean my lifestyle is quite restricted. At the moment I'm lucky enough to be able to shop in Waitrose, go on holiday, give to charity, buy nice clothes, and go out when I want.

Also I'm not sure I want to spend all my weekends visiting the same place.

So if I were to buy outside of London:
a) is this ethical?
b) would the financial and hassle aspect of it be worth it to get on the property ladder?