FWIW, I live in mostly flat AZ and love 50-34 with a 12-25 11speed cassette. On the flats I'm in the big ring and 16,17, or 18 most of the time. If I get caught at a light 50x21 is fine to pull away quickly.

I'd rather be in the big ring and the middle of the cassette most of the time, with single tooth increases. Most hills are short enough that I'll just cross chain it for a short time instead of dropping to the small ring. If your bike is tuned properly there's no reason why it should be very noisy when cross chained.