I almost decided to go with a Thinkpad X230 - I have used a X200 running Xubuntu for almost 6 years happily. The X200 just started to fall apart and I was bumping up against the 4GB memory in it frequently enough in the last year to make a change. The X230 would have been way cheaper and supported the 16GB of memory I was after. But work was paying, I try to maximize laptop ROI by not upgrading every year, and the screen on the retina is quite lovely. The trackpad, not as much. I miss the thinkpad red nub.
But, debian Jessie installed very easily and so far, I really like the experience. I'm using XMonad, with very little customization, and in general it seems to be a solid machine. Check back with me in four years. If I'm still using this machine, the switch will have been worth it.
I'm quite sad about how Thinkpads seem to be transitioning from serious, hacker-friendly tools to somewhat generic consumer-grade gear.