I don't have to hear any more blue curtained admiration of space fascism or babbling about "heresy" or "xenos" when those paint-huffers are talking about current events either
Tabletop games last for hours, too. I can't imagine voluntarily spending the better part of an afternoon like this.
Building and painting the models seems kinda fun, and I'm sure the game is fun with the right people.
Tabletop wargames aren't just 40k. 40k is just the largest group. A lot of places will play historical games (like War of the Roses or Napoleonics), small indie games (Gaslands, Turnip28, Trench Crusade), established franchises with a cult following (Battletech, Warmachine, Frostgrave, Confrontation), or internet community projects (Wyrd Wars, Renegade Scout, One Page Rules).
So if you want to get into tabletop games, don't let 40k stop you. If you have friends who you play games with, you can always make forces for two players and play together like you would a boardgame or RPG.