The Wi-Fi thing is interesting and surprising: the iPhone 8 is limited to 802.11ac whereas the 2022 iPhone SE supports 802.11ax and WiFi 6, so it's certainly not older technology holding your SE back. It could be they used a problematic WiFi chipset for the new models, and I can't find any reviews where anyone's tested the Wi-Fi performance of the 2022 SE, but at least for the 2020 SE it performed pretty much identically to the contemporary iPhone 11 so they didn't seem to be cheaping out back then (293 Mbps vs. 303 Mbps):
https://appleinsider.com/articles/2...the-definition-of-affordable-smartphone-power
Unless the 2022 SE's WiFi chip is somehow worse than the one in the 2020 model, it sounds like you might either have a problem device or a specific problem with your network.
Theoretically, you should be getting a healthy boost in WiFi speed with the new model.
You, uh, may want to
read the reviews before making that decision. I'd give the Pixel line a look if you're going that direction, or alternatively give the iPhone 13 or 13 Mini a shot if you're looking for something that really feels different from an 8.