I cant deicide between a real wood burning fireplace or a gas one?

its going to be the center piece of my new family room... i just dont know id i want ash and smoke spreading across the whole room. I never had any type of fireplace so i really dont know. also, the grate where the ash falls in the basement seems kinda creepy to use shovel to scoop out the ash. although i dont really feel like spending more $$ on gas bills with a gas one. please help. thanks