I think for people new to Linux there will be a few learning experiences.
First of all it's a different OS, so things will be different. You start from zero knowledge more or less, except a good GUI helps
Then what Desktop Environment or Windows Manager your distro uses. Some use KDE or Gnome and are full fledged environments with apps for most everything, others are slim and just focused on running programs efficiently.
Reaper should feel right at home, with most bells and whistles available.
What might be disconcerting is the lack of the windows/osx plugins normally available to the user. There are commercial plugins and quite a few free plugins and even plugin suits available that work well in reaper. Still giving up your toys...
There are even ways to run windows plugins on Linux using WINE and for instance the LinVst wrapper. This is somewhat of hit & miss, but mostly works albeit with some caveats. IMO best employed for mixing and not for low latency live FX.
The other downside is the lack of soundcard drivers. Mostly we are good with the Class 2.0 Audio USB specification. It means that most USB soundcards can be used with Linux, but we typically lose control of any onboard DSP, and in some cases have higher latency. Firewire ought to work well with most devices too.
My recommendation would be to ease into it. Install Linux on a different disk/partition or USB drive. Then once you get comfortable, dive in!