How Do You Choose Your Linux Distro and Do You Switch Often?

If you're new to Linux, I'd recommend starting with Mint. It's beginner-friendly and smooth. If you have trouble with your monitor setup, try Ubuntu, since it supports modern display protocols better. Ultimately, I think distros are less important than people make them out to be. After trying many, I usually end up customizing them to look and feel the same anyway. I personally favor Gentoo for its configurability, but it’s definitely not for beginners!

I went through multiple distros before settling on CachyOS, which is like an easy version of Arch that performs really well. I started with Fedora, tried Mint, battled with Arch, then went to EndeavourOS before ending up on Cachy. But I'd say Mint is better for beginners. If you're looking to transfer your OneNote notes, you can use Joplin; it's a great alternative without the Microsoft tie-in!

I have tried a bunch of distros in a virtual machine to find what fits my needs best. It’s a great way to play around without committing, so I'd suggest you do the same!

I started with Kubuntu, played around with a few in a VM, and stuck with KDE Plasma as my environment. My first experience was with Xubuntu on my dad's old PC. I switched to Debian to avoid some corporate controls I found annoying. I much prefer community-developed distros over commercial ones.

I just hopped through a lot of distros and finally left Windows last week for CachyOS. Most distros can handle whatever you need, but they vary in ease of use. For newbies, I still recommend Ubuntu since it has a ton of documentation available online. It makes troubleshooting way easier!