I guess from the Panhandle you are faster in somewhat acceptable places, while in NW Arkansas, you are surrounded by what? Kansas? Oklahoma? Duh.
What are the "acceptable places" near the panhandle? Alabama? Mississippi?
Miami, Atlanta, New Orleans...
Acceptable was probably too much
All of those places are very far from the Panhandle. Google Map them. You may be surprised by how far.
New Orleans isn't all that far from the panhandle. It's maybe 2-3 hours from Pensacola and is on the Gulf Coast itself.