I used Silex (the symphony micro framework which was merged back into Symfony), which means I'm now using Symfony. I too prefer it to Laravel. I thinks less opinionated maybe?

honestly its ok to have a different opinion, different people prefer different things.

I feel Laravel is fantastic for Junior and medior programmers, while Symfony appeals more to seniors.

I’m a senior programmer and love Laravel. But maybe I’m a junior at heart ;)

All the worst projects I've inherited and rescued were Symfony. Developed by senior devs that overengineered. I'm sure newer Symfony is better and there's some good stuff out there but as a decade+ senior engineer I like Symfony components but not the framework. Love Laravel and Lumen and also some of the other microframeworks for some things. Enjoying Laravel Nova right now too.

Perfectly encompasses my experience with it as well. The community of Laravel-focused developers is extremely proactive in sharing best practices and very much encourages simplicity.