Also interested in soil conditions for gardening, any major crime problems (like the tweakers I deal with on an almost daily basis, homeless, etc).
Bonus: Sarah Huckabee Sanders will be your Governor.
Arkansas has very fertile farm land. it rains a lot more than N. Texas where I grew up but you’ll generally have a longer growing season than in Washington. But different veg and fruit obviously due to the hotter weather.
It’s like anywhere else. Most places are OK but there are bad areas.
Someone suggested spending a winter there. I’d recommend the opposite when going to a Southern state. May and June will be like the summer you’re used to. Take a trip exploring in July or August. Ask yourself, would you go outside in the heat and can you deal with mosquitoes the size of pigeons?
One thing would be the same. Remember the movie, “The Legend of Boggy Creek”? It happened in Arkansas. Yep, they call their Bigfoots “Wood Boogers”
We moved to far NW Arkansas from Colorado 6 years ago. The area has become more suburban over last 20 years - stay close to I-49.. Summers are not as hot as Texas, winters are fairly mild. Good medical care choices. Competent, conservative government. I recommend you visit a meeting of the county Republican Committee when you come. We don’t miss colorado.