If I sell my town to Nook and restart, do I get to make a new character? (Ie change the dumb eyes I currently have?) And do I get to keep my current town layout, cause I do quite like it aside from a couple of badly placed PWPs?
Nope, it?s a complete fresh start with a new map and new mayor. The only thing you keep is the money, or any items you get someone else to hold for you.
You can also keep your catalog, so you can quickly get back any items you really need.
Yes you'll get to make a new character - new eyes, new name. You won't get to keep your current map, you're completely starting over with some bells to get you going. Just make sure your current town tree is big enough to sit on (50 hours/50 days of gameplay) or you won't be able to sell your town - Tom Nook won't appear after Isabelle and it'll be too late to go back.
If you don't mind map resetting, you can probably find a map with a similar layout eventually. Only downside is having to go through the selling dialogue each time you reset if you don't like the layouts Rover offers you.
You could always sell your stuff for maximum profit, restart a new town with a random layout, and then get someone to hold your earnings for you. Although that is probably just as tedious, plus you won't get to keep your catalogue if you wanted to, or have the option to delay your payment installments.