Checking back in...I'm really enjoying the 1x setup and as someone noted: it's well-suited to an area with a lot of climbing. The only issue I've had so far is a chain drop on a really rutted, fast downhill dirt trail. I heard it happen, so I just coasted until the trail turned to uphill and quickly fixed it. This revealed another benefit of 1x, which is how much faster you can put your chain back on without a front derailleur.
I took a ride on my road bike last weekend and found that I needed to put more thought to shifting with a front derailleur back in the mix. That bike is less oriented to climbing from gearing perspective, so I was def working harder on steeper climbs (not surprising).