North Devon is beautiful but it's not the most straightforward place to live.
I lived there for a while and I didn't actually find people unwelcoming at all. Quite the reverse, in fact. Within weeks I recognised almost everybody I passed on the street. I've been gone over ten years now but I still miss it and I still keep in contact with quite a lot of the people I met when I lived there.
Once children get to 18 they tend to split into two groups - those who leave and those who stay. Generally speaking those who want decent jobs leave and go to Bristol or London, and those who want to be by the coast and go surfing whenever they want stay, but their opportunities are quite limited. There are also quite a lot of adults who used to have good job in other places but were seduced by Devon and now work in pubs and surf shops.
If you want your kids to be high achievers at school and in their careers then you will need to be mindful of the fact that there are a lot of people in North Devon who aren't very ambitious. I don't mean that in an unkind way, but I mean there are a lot of people who either grew up there and never left because they don't see why anyone would ever want to live anywhere else, and people who moved there specifically to escape the rat race. You will be mixing with those people and your children will be mixing with their children. So if you want your kids to get top marks at school and go off to top universities and have glittering careers, bear in mind that it might be more of a struggle to motivate them in the laid back environment of North Devon than it would be if they were being hot housed in a competitive private or grammar school somewhere in the South East.
Socially it can be quite limiting. It is a small community and so you will be friends with people because they are there, rather than because you have things in common. In my experience that meant I made friends with a lot of people I probably never would have got to know in a big city, and that in itself can be surprising and enriching. But you may also feel it's difficult to meet people on your wavelength, either because you just don't meet enough people to find the ones you have a lot in common with, or because you have the feeling that everyone else has known each other forever and you're an outsider. (This is partly true, but not wholly.)
There are some people who seem to have got the balance just right. People who for example went off to university and then came back to Devon where work as a doctor or physiotheraprist at the local hospital or teach in one of the local schools and enjoy a beach lifestyle in their spare time. I also know a lot of people who grew up there and have great jobs in places like Bristol and go back to Devon every other weekend or so to see their parents and friends.
I also know people raising their young children down there who are constantly posting pictures on Facebook of sunsets and BBQs on the beach and walks in the glorious countryside and yes, I do feel jealous. If you can get the balance right with jobs and studies and a decent social life then it is a fantastic place to live. But it's not for everyone, and it really depends on what sort of person you are.