Honestly I don’t think nixos is harder than other advanced distros, its just very different. For instance I’ve used nixos for a while now but I’ve never been able to get a working arch install, even following the guide. I think in a lot of ways nixos is easier because to fix a problem you don’t have to go digging through config files and esoteric shell commands, you usually just have to modify your config and rebuild. The biggest problem is that nix documentation is terrible. I would recommend trying it out in a low stakes environment like a vm using the graphical installer, then just poking around the config file and figuring out what stuff does. Also, as a replacement for good documentation there are some good guides online. I’ve been enjoying guides by tonybtw.com, his videos as well as vimjoyer and no boilerplate on youtube are great

Cant count how many times I’ve gotten frustrated with nixos, switched to a trendy new distro, started missing nixos, and switched back in a week with my config bringing me right back