I'm cutting and pasting this from another of my threads, bu this time I'm after info on a different area, namely East Devon and Dorset borders.
After years of living overseas we are looking for somewhere to retire to in a couple of years time, back in the UK.
We have a holiday home in another country but for various reasons we won't live there all year round, so we need to find an area that will fulfil our needs for 6 - 8 months of the year, somewhere that won't be too hideous or too tumbleweed in winter, and have plenty to keep us occupied in terms of hobbies, meeting people, maybe some volunteering etc.
We can't decide between being on the coast or being in a large market town or lively small city. Somewhere that is both would be ideal, but that's a tall ask.
Most important thing is a nice area. Somewhere attractive and safe, not too isolated, ideally not too far from the coast, definitely not too far from some decent shopping, restaurants, theatre, live music venues etc.
We've narrowed our search down to about 20 different towns across 6 counties 
and we're just going round in circles now.
I've decided to just start threads about specific places rather than ask for suggestions all on one thread. So on this thread I'm asking about Sidmouth, Budleigh Salterton and the nice parts of Exeter.
We love Sidmouth, it's a strong contender. We almost made an offer on a house in Budleigh Salterton but wondered if it might be a bit small/quiet for us? Although I imagine it's easier to make friends there than somewhere like Exeter.
Topsham is beautiful but SO bloody crowded and those narrow streets are a PITA to live in, parking a nightmare etc. The houses on the outskirts we didn't get to see much of, but from what we could tell it just felt like busy suburban Exeter, traffic and buses everywhere and maybe not worth paying the eye watering prices for, given that we won't need to commute.
Any thoughts? Much appreciated.