Just made the change to a Pixel 6a from my really old Samsung Galaxy.
My only requirement was about size. I wanted something "smaller", first I thought about going with a newer Samsung from their mid-range 'A' category, but after seeing how big those things were, I decided to look outside the Samsung ecosystem.
I discovered GrapheneOS and as an open-source enthusiast, I really liked the idea. The professionalism of the dev team and the bloat free aspect of the OS made me get a Pixel.
The size is not that bad, but I wish it would be a bit smaller. So far I'm really liking it. I love the camera of this thing (even without GCam). The physical button placement was a bit weird for me at first, but I've gotten used to it.
I usually abuse my phones till they die, so I was looking for something that would last and I really think that I will be able to go for 5 years with this phone without an issue.