I live in a metropolitan area just across the river from St. Louis, on the Illinois side. Troy, Ill. We are 15 miles from the city.
Troy sits on 3 major interstates so its a trucking community.
We shop, etc., on this side of the river and attend the Cardinal ballgames, opera and other community events in St. Louis. Lots of folks (like I use to) commute to work everyday to St. Louis.
We have the country here and cross the river we have the big city life. The best of 2 worlds.