Ah, sure. I think it's worth the cost; but I also think it's not a cost everyone wants to pay.
In a way, I think most of the "I tried Nix/NixOS but didn't stick with it" comments are about its learning curve.
I'd make comparisons to other tools: VSCode does the job pretty well without having to learn anything, but many people will learn tools like vim, & emacs. (The latter isn't just out of legacy; kakoune & helix seem pretty neat).
Still, I'd gate these power-user tools behind "you need to take the time to learn them", rather than a general recommendation.
In a way, I think most of the "I tried Nix/NixOS but didn't stick with it" comments are about its learning curve.
I'd make comparisons to other tools: VSCode does the job pretty well without having to learn anything, but many people will learn tools like vim, & emacs. (The latter isn't just out of legacy; kakoune & helix seem pretty neat).
Still, I'd gate these power-user tools behind "you need to take the time to learn them", rather than a general recommendation.