> no custom templating language
JSX may not be a templating language but you still need to consider it when comparing with other framework's languages
> less opinionated
The community is though, if you don't do things with redux, react-router, etc then you're considered odd. Any job you pick up with react is sure to use those.
A bit disingenuous there. In general people find Redux quite complicated and it everyone acknowledges it requires quite a bit of boilerplate when used in the default way. Quite a few like MobX, or using their own state management.
I've found the community to be very open to alternatives and helpful.
I found myself much much more open to JS library fatigue with React; the ecosystem is so vast that it's hard to figure out which particular store I need, or which routing library I want or what form library I need and so on. I've seen a number of people complain about this, especially new comers.
I find the opinionated nature of Vue.js so refreshing, especially for newcomers, which the OP is, hence why Vue.js is a much better option to begin with. And continue with, but that's a decision I guess the OP can make further down the road.
What do you need a routing library for? Have a single controller component (usually the most outer shell app component) and sprinkle in further functionality (e.g. history pushState) as necessary. Don't build it out until you actually need it.
I've never needed a "form library" because forms are almost always interactive in some specific way. Using a form library is almost always guaranteed to just get in the way.
You don't need to have a global state management library either if you have a good grasp of your apps data structures and how they need to be passed into components.
I find with React I get the opposite of javascript fatigue: it's so easy to build anything you need once you understand react that you won't need to search for all those libraries and code snippets.
I really hate reinventing the wheel, especially when good quality production tested solutions are out there. React libraries, quality wise, I've found hit or miss.
I find Vuex a very nice global store and the tooling (chrome plugin etc..) is top-notch.
