I like the more laid back vibe here myself. Plus, though some fault Phuks for it, it feels great to shed all the hate BS. Hey, it may be smaller and slower, but you really get a feel for people here. That's cool.
Smaller isn't a bad thing.
For me personally, the less there is to browse means less time for me on the internet. Hate to admit but leaving voat showed me how much time I was spending on voat and neglecting other things I needed to do. I got off the hamster wheel and have been better for it. There's only so many posts about gardening, cooking, etc before one needs to get off their ass and try it for themselves.
I'm retired and have time on my hands, obviously. But I get what you're saying. When real life calls, we should all be out there while we still can.
I enjoy seeing familiar names too and know there are other voaters here using different usernames on different platforms.
When I see power users jumping over then I really start to get the sense that the voat I once knew and highly enjoyed is gone. I'm sure there's new power users but the vibe is gone.
I dig the vibe here.