Some people are fine with creative mode. The coach wanted a modern city, which is prohibitively difficult in survival mode because of how the ingame materials work. But in that case, it's not fun to use WorldEdit.
I've built a couple replicas of IRL buildings in survival over the years, for an hour or two after work, and found it very relaxing. It did take a lot of repetitive clicking, but the result was (almost) always worth it. And all the things like planning, finding the right place on the map and gathering the materials building materials made it feel like an actual construction, which I enjoyed.
So yes, personal preference. For relaxation and repetive tasks I rather go away from the screen.