For some context about myself, I'm quite new to system administration and Unix-like systems. I have some experience using Linux as a desktop part-time, but I never really got into system administration, shell scripting, etc. I've been wanting to learn system administration and I've recently been drawn to the BSDs. At the same time, I have a use case for finding a secure desktop operating system to be used within a virtual machine where I can have more peace of mind when visiting untrusted websites or opening untrusted documents while hopefully minimizing risk of infecting my host OS. (Yes, I've looked into QubesOS and decided it's not for me.)
I think this could be an opportunity to learn some basic *BSD system administration where I can learn to set up and run a *BSD system, and I'd be able to keep myself motivated while doing so since I'd actually have a use for it. The thing is, I'm not sure exactly which of the BSDs might be best suited for this use case, if any at all. At first I was leaning towards FreeBSD since (as I understand) it is actually intended to be used as a desktop OS and supposedly has the largest community which would be useful for a noob like me. However, I've also seen many people crap on FreeBSD for not being very secure and instead people will recommend OpenBSD or maybe even HardenedBSD if security is a priority. My main concern with OpenBSD is that it doesn't seem to be oriented to desktop use cases, and using it as such might be a more "hacky" solution? As for HardenedBSD, it has a tiny community and I'm not sure how much that might hinder a noob like me when trying to learn the system and set things up for the first time.