> Having a key like Option which allows you to easily type
> accented characters and other things quickly is a big deal.
On ⁎nix (ie X11 or Wayland) the functional equivalent of Option is ISO_Level3_Shift, aka AltGraph or AltGr.
If you use one of the common Linux desktop environments, there should be something in the desktop settings that allows you to make one or both PC Alt keys act as ISO_Level3_Shift, as well as a keyboard layout variant with Mac-like mappings. In KDE (which I think is the current best choice for Mac refugees because you can rebind shortcuts to use Command), look in System Settings under Input Devices → Keyboard → Layouts → 3rd Level Shortcuts.
If you don't use one of the common Linux desktop environments, you want something along these lines as part of your startup:
If you use one of the common Linux desktop environments, there should be something in the desktop settings that allows you to make one or both PC Alt keys act as ISO_Level3_Shift, as well as a keyboard layout variant with Mac-like mappings. In KDE (which I think is the current best choice for Mac refugees because you can rebind shortcuts to use Command), look in System Settings under Input Devices → Keyboard → Layouts → 3rd Level Shortcuts.
If you don't use one of the common Linux desktop environments, you want something along these lines as part of your startup: