For me it was:
Windows (for many years) -> Ubuntu (for a year) -> Arch Linux (for half a year) -> Void Linux (literally 2 days) -> Artix Linux with runit (a month) -> Gentoo Linux (another month) -> Debian (finally, I don’t plan on changing it).
Also, when trying to switch from Gentoo to Debian, I removeded up all my data with no backup.
What was your journey?
EDIT: Added Windows
Here’s my distrohopping journey (including non-Linux OS)
Windows 7 →
Windows 10 →
Mid 2021, I tried Fedora Linux in a VM and was unable to install it, but I liked it regardless.
So, a while later I decided to try this “Linux” thing on my computer.
Linux Mint (late 2021) →
Arco Linux (arch felt too intimidating) →
Debian (stability = good?) →
Debian Sid (stability =
boring
) →Artix Linux OpenRC (omg i hate systemd so much!1!!) →
Void Linux →
Artix Linux runit (it didn’t work) →
Arch Linux (how do i use systemctl wtf) →
Void Linux again (ah,
ln -s /etc/sv/something /run/service/
)→NixOS unstable (since January 2024)
Honestly, I’m just glad I found something I liked, as NixOS is perfect for tinkering.
During all that distrohopping, I “DE-hopped” even more. Currently I run SwayFX, but I’ve used Cinnamon, XFCE, Plasma, GNOME, AwesomeWM, i3, bspwm, dwm, swaywm and Hyprland.
edit 1: add Artix Linux runit
edit 2: remove NixOS stable from the list