This. Vue feels a lot like Angular 1, but gets more stuff right. Angular 2 feels like an over engineered React clone using more complex tech to solve the same problems. I also really dislike JSX so I am biased.
I am in the same boat as you. I was in love with Angular 1 and when Angular 2 was announced I was very much disappointed. There was not one redeeming things about A2 IMO, just a huge clusterfuck which is still growing with every version.
Also never liked React. The whole JSX and everything is just isn't for my taste. I'm speaking as a solopreneur who likes launching a new site every month. Anyway, so a friend suggested Vue and this framework brought me actual joy. It is everything I was hoping to see in Angular 2 and better.
Seriously, if you like A1 but not a fan of A2 or React then Vue is definitely up your alley.
I love Vue. I prefer it to React and Angular. But once you get to customizing your use-case (like adding Typescript, State management, or Design frameworks) you start relying on increasingly smaller projects with less and less "maturity". For example I make heavy use of the vue-typed library[1] but it has 47 stars and two contributors.
That's true, but I dislike "essential" third-party projects anyway. Part of the reason I like Vue so much is because of the "official" Vue + vuex + vue-router combo (for React you have to use third-party libraries for state management and routing).
I don't get why people say this. Vue and Angular 1.x are only similar when you're comparing the templating engines. But how much of the work migrating to React or Vue actually involves porting the view? I think that's not a very substantial amount compared to the application logic.
I've worked with all three, and I would say that Vue and React are for more similar than Angular and Vue.