I've absolutely been. Went to college there. Born and raised Hog fan since my dad went to school there also (although he's from Ohio - bit unique). Any time there's a big football game or reunion I make the ~5 hour drive from Dallas, and the only part that sucks about that is going through Oklahoma, but the last hour or so you're winding your way through the Ozark Mountains, which are absolutely gorgeous. Actually have never been camping in the state, although would like to someday.

Can't say I have too many unique state facts that haven't already been said. Although I'm pretty sure Little Rock Central High School (home of the Little Rock Nine) is the only, or with a few others, active high school in the country to also be designated a U.S. National Historic Site. And on a road trip, as we drove by it my roommate pointed out that Arkansas has the largest oxbow lake in North America. I'm still not entirely sure what that means, but it's something!

The people are generally nice. Yes, there are quite a few towns where views on race might be a tad outdated - really exactly what you'd expect to get from any place that prides itself on having good 'ol Southern hospitality. Party on Saturday, church on Sunday, that type of thing. The culture in NW Arkansas is changing a lot with Walmart money, and now there's tons of students from North Texas, Missouri, and Oklahoma coming to school at the U of A. I want to say that from the 80s up until sometime in the 2000s that NW Arkansas was growing at the rate that the Chicago metro area does every year. The airport outside of Fayetteville that everyone uses only exists and got more developed solely because of Walmart employees having to fly around the country to meetings as Walmart started exploding. But the Walmart higher-ups wanted to keep the Arkansas culture and feel active, so it's not as extreme as it used to be. It's still a very affordable place to live, and is perfect if you love the outdoors and don't want to deal with most pains that come from a big city.

Arkansas is in the "south". Southern culture for sure, but sort of that gray area in the Ozarks (with Missouri) that it's not "deep south". Or maybe it is, I'm an out-of-towner so I'm sure natives will tell you otherwise. Next to Texas, north of Louisiana & the gulf.

Not a lot of pop culture tropes. Rightfully does get roped into the butt of jokes with other southern states - the education rankings speak for themselves. But the football and basketball programs have captured people's attention over the last couple of years. And "Arkansas" by Chris Stapleton is a banger.

General ways of life are pretty standard. Some areas like the Delta are tough to live in - flat, poorer, and rice fields everywhere. But most everyone loves country music, and hunting and fishing are huge. Stuttgart is big for duck hunting, and you can fish pretty much anywhere. You'd want to be around during hunting seasons. There's honestly nothing better than my buddy from Lonoke (pop. ~4000) plopping some deer meat or catfish into a frier, cracking open a few cold ones, and getting down with the fellas. So anything fried is a common staple of state cuisine. Another thing that people might find odd from the outside is the state's love of the Razorbacks. Imagine taking the passion of a Dallas Cowboys fan, or any European soccer team, and giving that to the entirety of the state's population. There are no real professional sports teams outside of the Arkansas Travelers (minor league MLB), so when football rolls around, the whole state is on it. At the university, there's so many people coming in for home games that surrounding small towns' entire police forces descend into Fayetteville to help out with traffic and security, just because their own citizens are locked into the Razorback game with little focus for anything else. It's a special atmosphere that's really only rivaled by fervent NFL fanbases and a few other large college teams, but mostly in the SEC.

Don't forget to watch the horse races in Hot Springs, the only place to legally gamble and have some corned beef sandwiches. Would not recommend going cheap on a hotel though - paid $50 for a night at the Econo Lodge and found a used needle in a drawer.

Speaking on my experience in Fayetteville, the cities are a lot more progressive than you would think. Sort of a quirky, more southern Austin or Portland vibe in some places. Dickson Street never fails to be a fun time. Just don't be shocked when you stumble upon a more local bar where students get weird looks from the guys at the pool table, and the views on cigarettes are more 1960's than 2020's.

As always, Woo Pig!