Even Mint wasn't 100% fiddling free last time I tried, anything using traditional package management is never going to be reliable as far as I can tell.
Expecting a dozen modern apps updated constantly with 100 overlapping dependencies each to not have conflicts seems completely insane.
The whole idea came from the era of systems maintained by hand over time, sometimes with things compiled from source, mostly using simple CLI software.
so i moved to an OS that does what its told, and stays like that until its told otherwise.
Linux has gotten progressively better and less needy over the years.
Windows today is just as broken and janky as Linux was a decade ago. It's crazy how bad things have gotten.
This makes the common assumption that Windows (or MacOS) requires less fiddling than Linux. I haven't compiled a Linux kernel in anger in maybe 10-12 years. Installing or uninstalling software is frankly painless.
On the flip side, I'm forever fixing my wife's wireless or printing, or trying to figure out why some file doesn't open magically. Typically, she just emails files to me to print, although this may be due to me buying a Kyocera laser printer, and her using some trash HP inkjet.
Time spent working around some Windows inconsistency or big or missing feature or poorly documented feature fits in the same category.
Because time is more valuable than money.
You can always get more money but you can't get more time.
This is just as true for developers as anyone else. Time spent fiddling with your OS is less time you have available to create new software or plan for your next career or build a life beyond computers.