I used to be obsessed with trying new note taking apps, but I've been the happiest and most productive using Vim and Markdown on my laptop synced via Syncthing to my phone and editing with Markor. I've used Vim for as long as I could program, so I am embarrassed that it took me so long to set this up (a few months ago) but I finally don't care about note taking apps.
Edit: sometimes I print my notes and for that I use the Vim plugin MarkdownPreview to render to the browser, then print there
Me to, then I just stopped. The enabling moment came when I found a free app that backs up Apple Notes in a portable format. I use the iCloud.com web app on my Linux laptops to access notes, and on my copious Apple devices, the Notes app is easy to use.
Some sad history: I spent years carefully making notes and organizing material in Evernote but realized that I spent much more time curating material than ever using it.
The problem I have is Markor's ugly design. I prefer a UI like that of the app "Monospace" (which I don't use, because it isn't open source).
I'm more of a developer than an end user but I still cannot stand apps with odd, "ugly" UI. I get this is mostly subjective though.
Edit: I downloaded Markor just to see again. It's actually not as awful as I remember, I do dislike the primary dark purple however. Otherwise, it's quite decent, I might start using it.
Neuron (https://neuron.zettel.page/) can be useful for this approach - it's purpose is to basically turn folder of Markdown (or Org-mode) notes into static, interlinked page with pretty formatting, tree view and search support. Not only is it great for making reading more pleasant, it works great for building blogs and knowledge bases.
what do you use for syntax highlighting? I have tried a few options but can't quite get what I need. I like url hiding (or is it called folding?) that VimWiki does for md files, but I hate that VimWiki's does not really follow the md standard
Edit: sometimes I print my notes and for that I use the Vim plugin MarkdownPreview to render to the browser, then print there