Is Okayama City a good place to live?

I will move to Okayama City in the future with my family. Is it a nice place to live? Are there things to do? Is it easy to get around and to visit nearby towns and cities?
Is there a foreign community that has an active schedule of events?

Also.. is there a soccer team that I will be able to play for or train with? I play soccer often and hope to play in Japan also.

Any help would be much appreciated.

Okayama is really nice, easy-going and inexpensive place to stay. It is very convenient for visiting many places because of Shinkansen and good location between Osaka and Hiroshima. If Shinkansen is too expensive, you can check Ryobi Bus night buses to Tokyo or Hakata etc. 123bus has route to Tokyo too but it is with regular bus, not too comfy... Many nice places to see also very close by, such as Kurashiki or islands off Uno etc.

If you are coming to one of the Unis, you can ask about soccer there. There are many teams also for foreigners. If you are a JET, I guess they have those too. If you're neither, ask at OPIEF. Also, check them for excellent language lessons for only 2000 yen a year!

I think the cost - quality ratio is excellent in Okayama. I've been here for 18 months now so please ask anything you can think of and I'll try to answer!