Ignore the "negative nancys", we have 2 vocal groups of them here the "stay outta my space" group and the "this place sucks it's not what I expected coming from (enter big city)".

My family resettled here a decade ago and have found it to be great. Amazing country small city feel with tons a variety and choices. Restaurants: what do you feel like today? Literally. I was military and even grew up military and travelled the world. and since you asked about restaurants: Lebanese food? Old commercial street, dude was a translator overseas for the military and his family now owns and runs a restaurant. Traditional Korean cook it yourself BBQ? South National street. Sushi? I'd have to write you a travel list but my favorite is Omi on Battlefield. BBQ: dear god. Seafood: actually a little lacking without spending a nice penny but if you do there is some great options. Steak? Brazilian? Indian? Irish pub/restaurant? Variety in restaurants is not an issue.

Ignore. When we were considering moving here, I posted on a local FB page asking for opinions about the area and got not only a crazy amount of comments but even DMs telling me not to move here. It was so weird! Thankfully, the positive voices won out. We love it here. (And we aren’t even conservative.)

Look, I don't hate it. If I had the option to live in Nixa though I'd go with Nixa.