The two are not mutually exclusive. Also, I don't think I have ever needed to actively think about memory management more than .clone() and static for any hobby

The two are not mutually exclusive. Also, I don't think I have ever needed to actively think about memory management more than .clone() and static for any hobby project I have undertaken. All the ML-like features like sum types, pattern matching etc. add great value. Cargo too. So, it is a great general purpose programming language. But blaming it as too low-level or similar despite choosing it is obtuse at best.