So I have been using PopOS/Mint for a couple of years now and I regularly listen to Linux Unplugged and have been getting some FOMO when all they talk about how great NixOS is. So I guess my default starting point is going to be a Vm through VMware. My question is: Is this a good place to start? Should I just use a basic desktop on bare metal to get it running.
I highly recommend https://zero-to-nix.com/start
I started with Nix Pills and the manual and had a very bad time.
Also I highly highly highly recommend using nixpkgs on popOS before jumping all the way to NixOS. The language and the concepts are a lot easier to learn one piece at a time
I would start with a virtual machine. Then, when the system is debugged, you can copy the configuration files somewhere (GitHub or other storage) and then reproduce the configuration on bare metal.
I started out by moving over my daily driver once I was convinced. It was a bit rough, but it forced me to get something working sooner than later.