I've tried to switch to Dvorak, but after a year I was just tired of the universally shitty default keybinding experience.

Either customize every app to better match the layout, or live with the afterthought UX.

Oh, and gaming. Better get used to switching to qwerty.

To give a contrasting viewpoint, I don't think you need to change your per-program keybinds. I've used vim with qwerty, dvorak, and Workman. I never rebound hjkl or anything else. The letters are in another spot, which you have to get used to... just like you're already doing to type words at all. Plus, in the case of vim you'll probably use stuff like e and w and search to get around faster a lot of the time anyway.

As for games, I always rebind everything, or play with controller. It's a one-time thing per-game and then you're comfortable and can also use an in-game chat without trouble. Plus you can use this chance to switch to ESDF-style (the equivalent in your layout, so RSHT for me) controls from WASD controls so your fingers can be in the normal homerow position.

I use colemak so a lot of keybinds in programs are similar enough to not be too bad. Vim was surprisingly easy to adjust to, although hjkl are in terrible positions in colemak. It’s kind of nice though because it forces you not to rely on hjkl too much. For games, I usually just switch back to qwerty.

The only particularly bad case I've found is v/w/z being right next to one another, which can be annoying. Still, I think I've won out overall. I spend a lot more time typing text than I do invoking keyboard shortcuts.

Regarding games, switching keyboard layouts in Windows 10/11 is thankfully super easy. (And some games do get it right, and the bindings go by physical position, so they just fall into place - though personally I've never liked this, because I don't really know where any of the Dvorak keys are individually, for non-text purposes. I'd rather switch to QWERTY and then I can look at the labels on the keys to figure out where to put my fingers.)

I've been using Dvorak for around 6 years now, don't know what you mean with 'universally shitty default keybinding experience'. I don't have any issues either in Emacs or in applications which use the inferior CUA keybindings. I suppose if you want to use certain keybindings one-handed it could be awkward, but I prefer holding the modifier with the opposite hand (for example right hand control + left hand 'a').

In gaming, my solution to "I'm tired of always rebinding keys and/or finding games that don't support easy key rebinding" became "I'll just play with an Xbox controller by default". My home is full of Xbox controllers anyway and PC game support for them has been really good for a while (and even better now post-Steam Deck).

I know it is not everyone's favorite solution, but it is fun for me.

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45102335

On Colemak, WASD becomes WARS.

What’s not to like? :)

I have a new keyboard with a physical switch on it to switch keyboard layouts / settings, wonder if I should give it a try sometime. But, same issue, I switch between typing, gaming and programming. Switching to dvorak would mean I would also need to remap all my applications.