Places to live...decisions, decisions!

I have just joined and posted in the visa/immigration section, but have more thoughts/questions as I float about this site.

So, we have been looking at several different locations to move and would be happy to hear peoples opinions on any one of the following:

Nottingham~ if for nothing else, my FIL is in a care home near lincoln, my husband once lived out there (growing up) and knows his way around. It is fairly central as far as the inlaws are concerned.

Liverpool~Never been. Adventurous move because it is different. Coastal location. Closer to travel to Scotland, Wales, Ireland.

Chester~Never been. Looks like a trendy, up and coming place to live. Read about the 1.4 billion being dropped into the city in the next 10 years. Have heard amazing things about this place.

York~Lots of interesting history. Incredible looking. Has a cool outlet mall:)

Manchester~ Big city. Big airport. Amazing Christmas markets (we LOVE christmas), relatively close to family.

We have visited 3 out of 5 of these places. Each of them have the added feature of Uni's which =students which =cool night life. We are big into music and having the opportunity to see live bands is something we really enjoy living in Toronto.

I have been dabbling in event management and offbeat wedding planning, so it seems most realistic to be in places with people leaving uni's to start careers and planning adult lives (marriages). I also work in Community Health and am trained in Social Services.

My husband once managed an internet company in the UK for approx 10 years, but since coming to Canada has been self-employed helping people with computers and has recently been asked to manage an event business website.

Which I think are fairly transferrable skills when considering country to country.

When we arrive our kids will be approx 12 and 4, so of course we are looking into area's that are "family" oriented, loads of things to do (we have been homeschooling in the last year) and great schools (possible the kids will go to school when we move).

We would prefer to be in a more central location so that it is easy to make our way around, etc. We are fairly relaxed in our way of life, living a "fly by the seat of our pants" lifestyle and planning is not really something we spend a great deal of time on normally!

But here we are, asking for any thoughts or experiences you may have had, to help make this a smooth transition

Thanks!

Chester is fantastic and there is something pretty interesting coming up soon.

It offers quality shopping and is based between Manchester and Liverpool.
It has easy access to the mountains of wales and the Cheshire plains. It's a location where you can get work.and relax at one of the many spa's in the area.

Definitely a fantastic bridge between the fast paced larger cities and the countryside.