If you are just looking for a cheaper city, you're going to be disappointed by any small town. "A friendly bar" is kind of a big ask in a small town that might only have a couple bars. There could easily not be one that you like. Same with schools - in a city you have choice, in a small town you are going to end up with whatever the local school is. Maybe it's good. Maybe it isn't. And maybe the town that has a friendly bar doesn't have a good school.
Honestly, it sounds like you belong in a city. A town isn't just a collection of perfect versions of the things you like from your city, and cheaper housing. That isn't going to exist. The bars will be worse. The schools will probably be worse. The stores will be further away, or else the housing "just off main street" will he more expensive. The social opportunities will be fewer. If you want to be happy with small town life, you need to find the advantages that exist only in towns and not cities: Outdoor recreation opportunities, family to be closer to, or non-social things you can do on your own with more space like gardening.
As someone who grew up in a very small town with exactly one pub and no other shops, this is a bit melodramatic. You can just walk in, order a meal and a beer, talk to the publican, and work out for yourself whether you like the place. There's something to like about most pubs.
The shops being further away also isn't a big deal. You'd think it would be annoying, but your habits quickly adapt. After running out of milk a couple of times, you learn to keep a can of evaporated milk in the cupboard. If you're out of eggs, you either have porridge for breakfast, defrost some frozen egg whites, or if it's really important you drive into town. It's not practically a problem.
From what I understand, the real things people struggle with are dealing with being alone, and learning how to have a social life with the different rules and constraints. My mum claims that when a new family moves to town, she can tell if they're going to leave by whether they leave the light on out the front of their house: the ones who're uncomfortable with darkness will go back, the others will stay. It's harder to maintain friendships unless you're organised, so clubs and groups are important to keep you socially active. Even your neighbours are further away and you don't have as many of them, so having a good relationship with them becomes more important than with neighbours in the city. In a small enough town you know everyone you see.
all i'm trying to say is the idea of "this is my local now, i'd better like it" isn't the way you have to think in a city. it's not a big deal to some people, but it is to others. all the trade-offs don't have to be a problem, it's all easy to work around, but if you're used to the convenience of a city then just the whole idea of having to work around inconvenience can be a larger adjustment than you think. for somebody considering moving out of a city it's good to be aware of that.
I think your experience in the UK(?) may not be very indicative of what to expect. I gather that pubs in small town Britain fill a broader social role than bars in small town America.
I'm not sure what social role bars play in a small US town. When I was over there I went into a few in some smallish west coast towns, but tourists don't get a full understanding of a culture, and the areas I was in are so densely populated that they'd probably be very different from e.g. Idaho or Texas.
Something to understand about small town life is it's a slower paced way of living than most people are used to. There's not much to do out here if you can't entertain yourself. People will come visit and ask what there is to do around here, and I'll be like well... We can go pick fruits at the farm, or we can go shoot, or we can work on projects with the tools we have. It's a slow paced life that doesn't match everyone. Understand what you're getting into.
Honestly, it sounds like you belong in a city. A town isn't just a collection of perfect versions of the things you like from your city, and cheaper housing. That isn't going to exist. The bars will be worse. The schools will probably be worse. The stores will be further away, or else the housing "just off main street" will he more expensive. The social opportunities will be fewer. If you want to be happy with small town life, you need to find the advantages that exist only in towns and not cities: Outdoor recreation opportunities, family to be closer to, or non-social things you can do on your own with more space like gardening.