I have a 33" Vigo ss apron sink. It's been installed for 8 months but we have only been in the house for 6 months. The outside of the sink looks as good as the day we got it. The inside does have scratches but that is to be expected. It is only dh and I, we don't have any children yet. I am pretty careful in the kitchen but Dh is not at all. I also found a thread in the metal working forum debating different ways of removing scratches from stainless steel. Of course everyone seemed to have a different opinion. Here is a link that might be useful: Thread on removing scratches

I have my stainless apron sink next to the dishwasher. The apron sink has great ergonomic advantages for me and the stainless is thinner in front than porcelain and easier to take care of. If you choose a stainless apron sink, most of the time, the dishwasher will be next to it. If you don't like it, I guess you could panel the DW.

“There are plenty of quality control and warranty reasons to stick with a well known American brand over an imported one. Buyer beware on country of origin on many of these brands that try to rename themselves to something British or German sounding for marketing reasons. “ I am sorry to say that is naive, as Kohler, Franke, and Blanco all sell Chinese imports under their own badges in their lower-priced sinks. I said “naive”, because people who don’t research think they’re getting an American, Swiss or German made sink cause of the names they see on the sinks. You will actually do better with a Kraus sink which has been getting great reviews on this forum for years, and is 16 gauge with a sink grid included. The brands I just mentioned sell their Chinese-made sinks at the thinner 18 gauge, and charge $80-150 more for the sink grids. If you can pay $1200+ for e.g. a Franke Swiss-made sink, or even more for a Rachiele sink, that’s great. But if you are not in that income level, and would prefer to pay ~$400 (or less with sales and coupons), you can get a fine sink from a brand like Kraus or Hahn. Regarding rusting - I’ll echo what @joseph_corlett said above, and add that another culprit is water with iron it, which is fairly common. The water dries, the iron shows up as rust spots, and the sink is erroneously blamed. Cleans up in a minute. Don’t use Brillo.

If you don't want an apron style, a 36" sink undermounts into a 36" cabinet, I don't care what the sink manufacturer says. Strap, don't clip or block the sink in place.