I toyed with the idea of a netbook not long ago, and I like many that are (still) available, but with that (small form factor) means it's generally an ARM chipset, which means no x86 architecture, which means less options in terms of...many things. Though Intel netbooks exist, so there's hope :)
I am considering a lightweight distro as well. mx I haven't looked at yet, but have heard of it. I was using xfce desktop on Raspbian back when, and I got very used to it. Now I am spoiled by Deb12/GNOME.
Better to cut the cord with Windows sooner than later - that OS (and co) is going all-in with AI and every privacy invading practice thats ever been put under the sun. It's your choice of course
hope you're doing ok wolf