I’m tired of axle problems

Is this normal for our cars?

2016 WRX STI here. I just hit 63k as I’ve been driving it more frequently since I moved to a city that’s less walkable (for those of you who check post history). Anyway, two years ago, I had to replace a front axle. I have no idea what the shop used, but they were my trusted shop where I was previously living, and I have zero reason to make me think they used subpar parts.

Last week. I took my car to the dealership for an oil change, and the technician discovered an axle leak and a valve cover gasket leak. I ended up taking it to a local independent shop to address both issues. In their inspection, they discovered one of the front axles boots is leaking. It never occurred to me to ask the last shop if they replaced the left or right side, so I don’t know if the replacement is bad or if it’s the other side.

But why is this an issue in the first place? Also, the first front replacement was $2500 and this shop is charging me $1700. The rear is much less pricey at $700. Not saying every car is the same, but when I was doing my research prior to buying this car in the first place, from what I can remember, axle replacements wasn’t high on the list.

Anyway, maybe this was a partial vent but as a person who doesn’t have the time/energy/tools to work on their own car, should I just expect these things only last 40k-60k miles and to be ready to put up the $? Or do I just have really bad luck?