This is true of most of almost all living technologies.
> When I needed to build a Django project in 2016, there were some improvements and new features but the syntax, tooling and patterns were the same.
Python and Django both underwent major transformations between 2011 and 2016. That was the 2->3 transition, class based views, channels, packaging was heating up, async came, and there were several syntax and libraries improvements. Were you more comfortable with Python at the time, is that why it was easier to get back into it?
Most Angular 2+ apps written in 2014 have essentially the same architecture as an Angular app written in 2024 (Directives, Components, Services, Pipes, etc, etc).
What you're describing reads like putting down any living technology and picking it back up again a few years later.