I didn’t switch to Arch Linux because it’s better in some absolute sense.
And not because other distributions are worse.

At some point, I just noticed that I wanted fewer ready-made answers.

Before that, I was on CachyOS.
It worked well. It was fast, comfortable, and mostly invisible.
That was useful — especially when I didn’t want to think about the system at all.

But over time, the “invisible” part started to bother me.

Not in a dramatic way.
More like a background noise.

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I realized that when something went wrong, I didn’t want a workaround anymore.
I wanted to understand what was actually happening.

What is installed.
Why it’s there.
What depends on what.
What will break if I touch it.

Arch doesn’t answer these questions for you.
It just leaves space for them.

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Strangely, this feels calmer.

There’s less guessing.
Less “someone probably thought this through for me”.
If something breaks, it’s usually connected to a choice I made — or didn’t make.

That’s not always convenient, but it’s clear.

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This wasn’t really about Linux.

Lately, I’ve been less interested in systems that optimize everything on my behalf.
And more interested in systems I can fully see, even if they require more attention.

Arch fits that state of mind well.

Not because it gives me more.
But because it hides less.

For now, that’s enough.