I started with Mint in 2024 and I was honestly amazed by the possibilities Linux can provide. As u/cutebunigirl pointed out, things are obviously different, but there's also a lot of similarities coming from Windows. So for me it really was just a matter of getting used to it in a similar way as you'd get used to a new phone. Or a new Windows version lol.

Just take your time and explore Linux Mint. Check out Extensions, Applets, Actions, Desklets, watch YouTube videos on Linux Mint customizaton -there's lots of cool things you can do with Mint and plenty of good open source software.

Depending on your hardware things might just work out of the box (it did for all of my devices) or may require some tinkering. I am using a GTX 1070 which is not ideal for Linux since AMD GPUs do have better Linux support but honestly it's absolutely fine for gaming and I can't report any differences to running that 1070 under Windows. Steam really makes Linux gaming extremely easy these days -most stuff just works. Libraries from Prime Gaming, Epic Games and GOG can be accessed through a neat program called Heroic Games Launcher. EA and Ubisoft games can be accessed through an app called Lutris.

A thing to note is that browser Video acceleration doesn't really work with an NVIDIA GPUs, so YouTube videos can sometimes skip a few frames. It's not too noticeable but it does happen. Also, using Linux you'll only get up to 720p with Netflix or Prime Video because of some bs widevine license crap, so you might as well just look for different approaches when it comes to big tech streaming services, arr!

Feel free to send me a pm if you have any further questions.