I second this if he can find a 2013~2017 for free/cheaper, I use an old Macbook Air with EndeavourOS mostly for writing, but my use case is not that far from OP’s, it also runs some old games.
It is light and portable, and it is just as easy to find a refurbished option as the Thinkpad (at least in NA).
My only problems are with the drivers(the Wi-FI and the FacetimeHD camera) and the charging cable.
I tried a bunch of distros, but only with EndeavourOS I got them to work easily.
That said, if OP prefers better Linux support, and better cost x performance. He will be better suited with a Thinkpad T or X (T480/T490 or X280) refurbished will be in the price range.
X280 is barely above 1Kg, with a smaller screen.
T480 is chunkier, bigger screen and Ethernet port.
I always look forward to Sunshine’s posts. But this is just an AD. :(
If you are looking for VPN for accessing content, Proton is fine, so are many others, just make sure they are open-source, don’t save logs and are audited. You will probably be looking more into bandwidth than other technical aspects.
Country is important, but if the VPN endpoint you are accessing is in any of the “several”-eyes country, or some other surveillance state, there are some risks involved.
If you need more privacy, Mullvad is the best option, you can also pay with cash. You can send them with no personal information.
There used to be a spreadsheet with significant details of many providers, but it haven’t been updated in a long while. https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/u/0/d/1UV8RozvFDOMnCcfwryEnyGp5GKYY4XJQHXJUG2gN8hU/htmlview
This one is more recent, but it is missing a bunch of important information. https://vpndatatracker.com/features.html
If your life depends on it (in case you are a whistleblower), you will need many more things in addition to Mullvad.