The Saturday market is vibrant but also very expensive and somewhat over hyped. The rest of the week, the town is pretty quiet and a bit dull and by 5pm everything has closed and it is empty!
At weekends, the town fills up with second homers and tourists and Friday traffic is definitely much heavier.
The primary and secondary schools all seem to have a good reputation.
We moved to Cashes Green which has a large 60s estate, we found it quite cliquey and unfriendly. Uplands and old Stroud around the hospital is much sought after, Rodborough is very friendly; going out of town, Woodchester is good along with the villages of Amberley and Box, Randwick and Whitehall.
The wider area is called Stroud Five Valleys and people tend to do activities throughout the whole area which includes Painswick, Chalford, Minchinhampton, Nailsworth and Stonehouse (which has a huge, recently built estate on its edges). However, this does mean that there is a lot of traffic and not many other ways of getting around. There are buses and there is a good cycle/shared use path between Stroud and Nailsworth. Minchinhampton and Selsley commons are beautiful, well used and with fantastic views.
It really depends what you are used to and why you are moving. For us it was quite a shock after living in a small city and tbh, we are moving on. It has changed a lot since lockdown, many of those who rushed to buy have moved away. It is though, seemingly, a good area for young families and there are lots. of youth activities, yoga, leisure centre with pool, clubs, complementary medicine and a fair share of hippie types as someone above said.
I'd suggest spend some time hanging around the town mid-week, late afternoon/early evening and see how it feels.