"Never used macs" maybe you should try them. I'm still using a 2013 MBP, only issue is that I had to finally replace the battery about a year ago.
MacBooks used to be good. Can you still buy a 6 year old thinkpad?
AFAIK there's even plenty of people who order components from newer thinkpads in order to retrofit them to older thinkpad's chasis, either as a way to upgrade their own machine or just to assemble a better laptop (like in most things in this industry, older interfaces and form factors are very often better).
I got bit by this bug. It’s amazing what $200 will get you! I also have a mid-2012 MBP that’s going strong. The advantage of thinkpads from that era is that their parts are generally easier to replace. The keyboards of that generation of laptop are just something else :)
I got an X260 on Ebay for ~EUR220 to replace an MBP whose screen went bad. The screen and touchpad are no match for the MBP, but it sparks joy in a way the MBP never did.
There are a ton of thinkpad t440p’s floating around from that era. They have upgradable everything (even a socketed cpu). You can buy a low-end model for €150 and soup it up to perform similar to current gen laptops.
