We moved to Stroud nearly 10 years ago from London originally but spent our years bringing up children in Oxford. We had to stay in an Airbnb for a month when we moved and the owner of the house and Airbnb was sarcastic about the town and said the Saturday market was fine but in the week, the place was full of hobgoblins. It seemed very snobby but I see what she meant now!
The Saturday market is amazing, full of organic veg stalls, food stalls as well as pricey honey, cheese, chutneys and so on. The rest of the week, the town closes at 5 pm, the bigger stores, Peacocks, M&M, Poundshop, Wilko, Halfords are gone or going and there are now dozens of coffee shops which causes a lot of bitching. As for the shock, horror when Starbucks came, you have to laugh!
The schools are mixed as people are saying, the grammar schools are much sought after. The GP surgeries are very over subscribed and NHS dentists are unobtainable. You'll be fine if you can afford to go private. House prices are extortionate and houses sell quickly even now.
As former city folk, we are often bored now (yes, there's a music scene, pubs, a fair amount of art and culture, often over subscribed and crowded) and we joke about using Bristol as a bit of light relief and a sense of freedom!!
The countryside is gorgeous but the cycling is actually limited if you want to avoid the local roads teeming with traffic. I wouldn't cycle here with kids, there's just the canal towpath and a 3 mile, off road cycle track from Stroud to Nailsworth. The local leisure centre is not very good, you have to book well in advance, the pool is small and always overcrowded, it's very disappointing.
We tried to move back to Oxford recently and couldn't afford it!! Think carefully OP and maybe make a few visits. It's a small town with all you would expect in a small town!