Yes, if you attempt to use Django like you'd use your typical Java, Swift, C#, or Objective-C framework, you're not going to have a good time.
I've seen the horrors Java devs start doing on a Python project when trying to "fix" things, where by "fix" they mean use patterns they had to in previous gigs.
It's a different world.
Having basic defensive programming, some simple classes instead of dicts everywhere and avoiding n+1 is a "different world"?