assuming you're young i'd recommend trying out uttrakhand towns rishikesh/dehradun etc good weather and polite people.
If only considering bigish cities my pick would be Ahmedabad (if general socitial norms ain't a problem)
else Jaipur (RJ) is the best balanced city WRT activities, people, affordability, connectivity.
ps. so far i've lived fulltime - 4 yrs in jaipur, 3yrs in bhopal, 10yrs in ahmedabad, 1yr in kota, 1yr in navsari and 1-2 month 'workations' stays in dehradun, gurgaon, bangalore, pune, kalga (hp), itawa (rj), rishikesh.
feel free to ask unique quirks of these places.
pps. locals at estancia township nearby SRM chennai were so unwelcoming and indirect racey that i had to change college, hence in my firm opinion south india is stict NO without external force.