Pop OS, combined with "Toshy" for using Mac keyboard shortcuts. I find this is a really comprehensive translation of Mac shortcuts, even cmd+shift+{} works for moving between tabs. I use my Keychron keyboard in Mac mode retaining all the same muscle memory.

https://github.com/RedBearAK/toshy

It was working quite perfectly with 22.04 but there are some caveats with the recent Pop OS "Cosmos" version, I can't find the shortcut to cycle between instances of the same application (cmd + `) and in general the OS is a little buggy and functionality can be quite sparse in some applications like you can't rearrange tabs in their terminal yet and it didn't even have "open new tab to the same folder I'm in" until recently. However the trajectory they're on is a Mac-like system-wide consistency and thoughtfulness, it's just early-stage.

I use Linux for work, so i was not venturing into unfamiliar territory when i switched to Linux on Mac. When i installed Linux (elementary OS) on my Mac few years back, the issue that annoyed me was not the OS, but lack of proper drivers for my the touchpad.

I would still recommend trying it out as your mileage may vary.

I'm actually in the opposite position. I've used Linux for 10 years until I recently had to switch to Mac due to work. I started off in Ubuntu in 2016 and moved to Arch in 2018. I ran it until I started in a new job.

One thing that Linux just gets right compared to macos and windows is the package managers. Brew is nice and all, but it's nothing compared to pacman/apt. I also miss it for the window managers. Coming from i3, navigating a mac felt so slow and inefficient.

Linux can be intimidating, but I'd suggest just starting off and try it. Preferably in something more beginner friendly. I've heard good things about Debian. If you want the full on "I (kinda) use arch btw", I'd also check out Manjaro which runs arch in the background.

GL!

Depending on the machine I use. My laptop is one of the few machines that can run entirely on open source from Firmware, drivers all the way to the top. Thus I run Trisquel. Definitely not for everyone.

But on other machines, I just run Mint. It is just a nice and comfortable thing. The base Cinnamon desktop is basically just Windows 7 locked in place with a few quality of life improvements. Not too ambitious but that ends up keeping things simple and mostly just works. For those that want more power and tweaking it isn't the best choice.

I wouldn’t get too caught up on distros. So many people end up distro hopping for years and never settle. The grass is always greener somewhere else, or there is always something new to try.

I’d just get one of the mainstream ones which will have the most community support available, and go with it. Ubuntu, Mint, or Fedora most likely. I’ve had good luck with OpenSuse in the past, but not too many people use Suse outside of the enterprise, which can be an issue if you’re just starting out.

Curious what you’re doing for hardware. That’s always the biggest hurdle for me when looking to do anything outside of macOS.

Windows via WSL.

I'm usually running Debian everywhere, and currently running OpenMandriva on my desktop PC. I work at in the refurb department of an e-waste recycling company, where I install Linux Mint on most of what I sell. (If it has a touchscreen, it gets Debian with KDE.)