You'll be fine. I use my iphone with non-Apple ear buds and sync my photos with my PC. I don't use icloud. If you like configuring your android to suit your preferences a lot you'll miss that.

I do have a mac as well, which I love, but it's for work and I keep my personal phone separate.

A good way to reduce costs on a new iphone is to use the Apple Certified Refurbished store. You can easily save 15-20% on what is basically a new phone direct from Apple. There seem to be quite a few available at the moment.

What makes an iphone worthwhile is long term support - easily 5 years, high quality manufacturing, a consistent app experience, and features that work reliably. You don't miss out on a lot with it used in isolation. Airdrop is really good, but there are other solutions.

That said I wouldn't break the bank for a phone and always get what you can afford.

Must be the headphones. 70db is loudish traffic noise so you shouldn't hear your footsteps over it.