Question: is there a reason to use arch over something like kubuntu, or ubuntu? It seems like a difficult starting point

I started using Arch a few months ago. Before I would always go for Ubuntu or Fedora, then saw a video of a guy on YouTube installing Arch using archinstall and setting up his HyprLand setup. It was super thorough so I gave it a shot, and came to the conclusion that even though distros like Ubuntu and Fedora are easier to install and get going, once you get to a program or utility that doesn't have a maintained package for your distro, you're no better off than anyone else, maybe even worse off as you'll probably be using an old guide or trying to follow some post that isn't 100% relevant to their case. The AUR is incredible and there's something truly awesome about installing that fresh git version with no fuss.