Just looked at it on Google Earth, appears to be a nice area. We stayed overnight at Maumelle on our recent trip.
For a time we were considering retiring to western Arkansas, maybe somewhere outside Mena, but eventually we decided to stay in Arizona.
Mena is probably greener than AZ. It’s not too far from Hot Springs which is a nice touristy type town. I like the looks of the area myself. It has running streams and pine trees and mountains. But AZ sounds nice as well. I’m in the NW corner myself and at my age it’s hard for me to think about moving.