> All of the most toxic work places I've been at had cheerleaders that would tell you it was amazing. I'm currently at a place (that I won't name) where I finally enjoy going to work again

These two statements made me realize the premise of this thread is flawed. Thanks for saving me some time.

> I fundamentally believe the job landscape now for developers is just systemically worse than it was a decade ago

I have this hunch as well. I tend to think it's because of proprietary monopoly platforms like iOS, AWS, etc forcing bad habits on everyone. Everything is so noisy these days.