I switched to Linux, because my very first confrontation to buy a Windows license myself weirded me out. It was quite casual. My exposure to Linux came from a few software development related videos. The workflows I saw looked much more efficient and fulfilling. To be honest, with a dying laptop running on Windows 8.1 I had an extra terrible experience anyway. So when I built my PC and I realized that legally purchasing a Windows license looked like browsing the black market, I decided to save my money and just try Ubuntu. I definitely had the luxury of being able to simply dive in.