Try Doom Emacs (https://github.com/hlissner/doom-emacs) instead of Spacemacs. It's much lighter weight and doesn't replace the configuration system to nearly the extent Spacemacs does.
Doom is not really better than spacemacs. It's just the same pain in a different flavor. Sure, in the micro-cosm of emacs it's pretty good, but in the macro-cosm it's still a pain and can't lift the limitations and problems of emacs.
sincerely curious, what are the limitations and problems of emacs? I use both vs code and emacs. I've been using vs code a bit more these days because I feel like the UI itself is a bit more powerful and modern. I've also come to like that If i want a language support it often installs all the things I'd want to make a good experience, and I have less to mix and match. I like the mix and match approach I've always used in emacs, but it turns out there fewer scenario where I want that power then I'd have thought, and more where I just want some out of the box functionality from an extension author