Libre Office (the equivalent of Word) works great, but does have fewer features than MS Word (e.g. "track changes"). One thing that is better is that it can read and save in more file formats, including .doc.
I find that most of the Ubuntu/Linux apps are like that - you can find an equivalent that works for just about everything, but it may not have all the advanced features of the MS equivalent. That said, they tend to run faster and are easier on system resources.
But bubblehead is right--the best thing to do is try it on a USB drive without installing it to your HDD and see if you like it.