The problem is the “can get.” If you value your time at, say, $200/hr, how long can you spend learning about Linux distros, repos, software, and troubleshooting issues etc before you’ve spent the savings from buying a non-Mac-native laptop?
This is not a fair comparison because there are a lot of benefits of troubleshooting, most of them intangible. If you don't like it fine, just get a Linux "certified" laptop or a Mac.
I don't see how buying a Linux "certified" laptop figures into this - they aren't "mac-like." And I agree with you, just buy a Mac if that's what you're looking for.
I wouldn't want to overstate the effort, we're talking a day at most. The reward is a machine that you have a high amount of control over.
A lot of software people already understand linux; obviously if you have to learn everything from scratch it's not the ideal productivity choice.
But if my two options are buying a Mac native laptop or spending the time trying to set up a "mac-like" experience on a Linux distro installed on an Acer laptop designed for Windows (the comment I was replying to), I'm going with the Mac native laptop.
You propose it's costing you $200 per hour, but actually you're also gaining real skills too that you may have otherwise paid for. Once you have a decent setup you really don't spend much time learning anything additional.
If you run into issues, there is a wealth of help out there and if you really get stuck you can simply peek under the hood, even make some changes.