That's exactly how I use Nix—I have a repo that can reproducibly build the same NixOS setup across my machines, and I can even share a large chunk of the config with my work Macbook.
Once I got over the hump with Nix, I found it easier to manage and improve my Linux configuration than on "traditional" distros I've tried (Fedora, Ubuntu... etc).
Unfortunately, the learning curve was pretty brutal, and I don't think I would have made it over without using Nix for development (without NixOS) first on both my projects and at work.
I found the Nixos learning curve easier when I started with nust nix-shell and then home manager on Debian and macOS. It let me focus on building up workflows in nix for particular tasks and I’ve slowly worked outwards towards overlays and full nixos deploys.
Once I got over the hump with Nix, I found it easier to manage and improve my Linux configuration than on "traditional" distros I've tried (Fedora, Ubuntu... etc).
Unfortunately, the learning curve was pretty brutal, and I don't think I would have made it over without using Nix for development (without NixOS) first on both my projects and at work.