I lateralled to QE not too long ago, and I frankly don't get the hate. I get to choose the types of cases I work on, and most are interesting or high profile. I'm getting a ton of hands-on experience. I've worked with a bunch of partners at this point, all of whom have generally been pleasant. One case I'm on makes my life miserable sometimes (it's very disorganized, so there are a bunch of unnecessary emergencies), but that's my only case like that. The other matters I have worked on have generally been fine. I'm on track to bill right at the billable target.
Yes, there are certainly complaints (most notably, the complete lack of institutional support for pro bono work), but that is outweighed by the great benefits (e.g., remote work, cool cases, no dress code, etc). My experience seems totally divorced from the firm's rep, and it feels strange!