Poole is a town people move to and then stay in, which tells you most of what you need to know.
The areas
Sandbanks and Canford Cliffs are the expensive end, close to the beaches. Ashley Cross and Parkstone offer village life with restaurants and bars on the doorstep. Broadstone, Upton and Hamworthy give more space for the money. The Old Town is for people who want to walk everywhere.
Getting out
Direct trains to London Waterloo in about two hours, the A31 and A35 for the road, Bournemouth Airport twelve miles away, and ferries to the Channel Islands and France from the port.
Day to day
The harbour is the thing that changes life here: sailing clubs, shoreline walks, and a coastline you can be on within fifteen minutes of leaving work. The flip side is summer, when the roads to the beaches become slow and the town fills.
See working in Poole.