There's some really good posts with lots of comments with pros and cons to read through on Lemmy, I'd recommend for example:

https://lemmy.ml/post/12123645

https://lemmy.ml/post/18268622

I'm no expert but every guide I've ever looked into portrays Mint as the most plug-and-play windows adjacent distro. I personally settled on Pop OS which has also been very simple.

I'm going to chime in and make bullet points, to not torture you with wall of text.

Recommend (especially for new comers):

• Ubuntu
  • easy to use
  • many choice to install literally everything ever
  • used by EVERYONE so plenty of hands on tutorial & troubleshooting
  • used both in servers and desktop

Not Recommended (especially for new comers):

• Manjaro/Arch
  • Difficult learning curve
  • Sometime breaks when upgrading (looking at you manjaro)
• NixOS
  • Very difficult learning curve
  • Need to get used with a whole new language to operate
  • Perfect for making a reproducible OS, especially if you like experimenting

Ive been daily driving debian since dec 25, 2023. I dont regret it at all. I had some experience using ubuntu in like 2007, but other than that had been using windows exclusively.

As you look to begin using Linux, try out something basic like Linux mint(Ubuntu derivative), pop os. etc

If you want to eventually move to a more advanced Linux setup, I'd recommend Arch Linux, however it requires the mastery of terminal and shell scripting to be fluent in your work flow. I'd recommend starting off with an arch GUI like Garuda linux, go with the KDE version as you come from Windows

Given your background and interests, I recommend starting with Ubuntu or Linux Mint. These distributions are user friendly for those transitioning from a Windows environment. Setting up a dual-boot with Windows would allow you to maintain your current setup while exploring Linux. Both Ubuntu and Linux Mint have guides to help you get started with dual-booting.

For getting started with Home Assistant or trying out large language models, I'd recommend Docker. You can keep these services separate from your systems files if you install them in container.

I meant to add... very long term goal if I get comfortable enough would be to maybe even try to convert my wife... but photoshop/Adobe Creative suite is a must have... how is that on Linux these days? Would this affect what distro I should aim for in that instance?

OpenSUSE Tumbleweed

I always recommend Ubuntu for beginners. It has the largest userbase and broadest support from all kinds of software vendors (including commercial software)

Ubuntu with default desktop will probably work straight out of the box with your computer if any distro will. Then you can easily try it, learn more and see if you like it.

You can also get commercial support for Ubuntu: maybe even your local computer shop can help you with any problems you run into (like printer installs)

Later on, you may switch to something else if Ubuntu does not feel the best distro.

I don't recommend dual booting. I used to dual boot and use my Linux partition as a work OS and Windows thanos zapped the bootloader more than 3 times. At bare minimum do not partition a drive in order to have two OSs (and one being windows)

As for winforms in Linux, I don't recommend it either but you can try out mono. There might be other options. For school I had to use c# and windows because the functionality for development in Linux was lacking. Mono might work, I expect you will encounter various difficulties along the way in terms of set up, environment,etc. That you will likely have to deal with on your own.

As for the distro, I personally went from 0 experience to using arch and I still use arch to this day 5 years later. I think it's the simplest distro to use and it's extremely minimal.

I know it sounds ridiculous, but I strongly believe the stigma vs arch is unwarranted in this day and age. You can install it with a CLI installer that comes with the ISO and then the rest is like using Linux as usual.

If I wasn't a tech person I'd probably use mint though.