>>105766271
Install geany and compare it side-by-side with mousepad, they are quite similar. Mousepad is quite comfy but I think VS-code is better.
Also I think you had trouble with Kate because it requires GTK theming, where as your entire OS is based around Qt theming. Don't use KDE apps. Gnome apps are much better anyway. Try playing around with flatpaks too if you struggle to find specific programs that aren't in your repository.
Actually, if you're only trying to get in to linux and saw LXQt as a recommendation I think you should try a bunch of different distros but the one I can't recommend highly enough is Archcraft. Not only do you get the Arch experience, it's customized to an absurd degree, it has a bunch of zsh plugins, and has color-theme switchers. It's very easy to install because it uses the Calamares GUI installer (very beginner friendly).
If you are interested, backup all your customization into a github or a USB stick and continue trying out distros.