Do you have any old hardware that doesn’t have a job? That is a great place to start. Take some time try out different solutions (proxmox, unraid, casa OS). Then as you nail down your needs you can better pick hardware.
I would keep with what you have. If you don’t have a compelling reason to get something new it’s not really worth it. That is how I try to look at it. Helps me save money and the planet
I saw the grass was greener on the other side. I can’t say it is or isn’t. Just different problems.
What I have done is follow my interest and curiosity. It has served me well in the technology industry
A few years old prebuilt for the office can work well, I have an HP 290 and HP S01 that work great as servers.
I have the Lily58 with low profile switches. I can travel with that very easily. Takes up about the same amount of space as my kindle with a case and keeps me typing happily.
I built mine for around $300USD.