on windows i can alt-tab between any window i want. On the mac i'm forced to use for work, I had to install a third party app to let me switch between my IDE, my browser window, and my browser inspector window. the only way for mac to do this is to use "expose" to show all windows and click on the right one, or go to the dock and right click on the app, and then click on the window i want.
Please tell me you are joking...
There are a ton of macOS shortcuts, many of which have literally been around since pre-OSX Mac days. Cmd+W to close a tab or window, Cmd+Q to quit a program. What I have found when moving between platforms over the years is that if you demand that, e.g., macOS behaves EXACTLY like Windows, or that Linux behaves EXACTLY like Windows, you are going to be disappointed. The Mac style of active program is different from the windows paradigm. You can get the exact same result in the same keypresses, but there may be a better or different way to do it. Here are a few that may be helpful.
Cmd+Tab switches between programs. Cmd+Shift+Tab switches in the reverse direction. While holding Cmd and tabbing, you can press "q" to quit a program.
Within a tab-based window, press Ctrl+Tab to cycle through tabs and Ctrl+Shift+Tab to cycle backwards.
Within a window-based program, press Cmd+` to cycle through windows and Cmd+Shift+` to cycle backwards.
(Shift consistently reverses)
Cmd + , is always preferences.
When you are viewing a top menu, hold down Shift and/or Option to see different possibilities within the menus.
MacOS has a very strong ability to set custom keybinds for system functions. Check it out.
There are also many customizations you can enable with the command line, for instance, focus follows mouse cursor.
Expose, as you note, is also very convenient, and you can use it within a program, within a desktop, and for all spaces.
Speaking of spaces, use Ctrl+Left or Ctrl+Right to move to other virtual desktops. You can have as many as you want. You can drag windows and cycle through virtual spaces, or you can drag+drop using Ctrl+Up to get to the space interface. You can also reorganize your spaces however you like.
I'm not at a dual monitor system right now, so I'm not double checking, but I recall having windows stretched between monitors before. You can stretch displays or have different displays set to different desktops.
For me, I personally find Windows almost unusable now due to the number of programs with popups that grab focus. I find macOS to be much, much better about that.