Thanks for all the helpful input from people on shifting over to #linux from #windows.
If you handle a lot of files and want to be in the same folder that you opened last time, avoid #flatpacks like the plague. They aren't bad for other programs but if you are sorting and importing or saving a lot of files flatpacks are nothing but a headache.
If you want the effect of windows file explorer's #image#preview side panel that's not the size of a postage stamp, running the split screen, Thunar file explorer and gthumb image viewer sync very well with each other and if you select a file in Thunar, gThumb with automatically pull up the file without prompting. Thunar also has tree layout which is something many file explorers are lacking.