Do you miss Dallas?

Our old home:

Someone asked me that question, and I thought it was fairly funny. There are many things I do miss, but so many hassles that I don't. They asked if I missed the convenience of the big city. THAT was funny - we lived 30 minutes from anything we would really want to go to. So here's a list of the things I miss, and the things I don't, about our old Dallas life:

Things I miss:
Great shopping (have to go to St Louis or Kansas City to find some of those stores)
Great concerts usually hit Dallas
All the professional sports you could want and more
The State Fair and Big Tex!!!!
Easy access to top notch health care and education
Incredible weather monitoring (from all the tornados)
Mild winters, being able to wear shorts (occasionally) in the winter.

Things I don't miss:
The traffic generated from the shopping, concerts, sports events, state fair, etc.
Lots and lots of crime
Commuting and parking in crime infested areas
News that was slanted towards certain areas of town
Tornados (anyone who says they have a lot in Missouri is lying or misinformed.
Not being able to go outside in the summer/ suffering terribly if the ac went out!
Terrible drivers!
POLLUTION!!!!!!!!!!

Overall, I say our new way of life wins. The advantages of the big city weren't present on a daily basis - except for the wonderful variety of places to work. Even with the workplace options, if you found a great job, you typically kept it, so you really only needed one place ;) I love the clean air, and the fact that once you're 10 minutes outside of town, you are totally in the country, which is great for camping, nice drives, and seeing the stars at night. I can't see them well from my house anymore like I did in Red Oak. But with the coming development, that probably wouldn't have lasted much longer anyway.

By the way, the Dallas picture was taken during a flood - that's not a lake, it's a river that has outgrown its banks.

Our new home: