I have been using the same Arch installation for about 8 years. The initial installation/configuration is the only time consuming part. Actual day-to-day usage is extremely easy.

Maybe this is no longer the case but I previously used Ubuntu and it was actually much more annoying in comparison, especially when upgrading between major revisions or needing to track down sources/PPAs for packages not in the main repos. Or just when you want something more up-to-date than what they’re currently shipping.

The rolling release model + the AUR saves so much time and prevents a lot of headaches.