Isn't there some place where I can host on a beefier server, but still have the same interface and behind-the-scenes support as if it were a shared account? I can't be the only one who wants a small, dedicated (virtual-) machine without having to manage it.
When I was looking at Rackspace Cloud Servers, it quickly became apparent that system administration, either provided by them or outsourced, was going to be a serious expense, (or a serious risk if simply ignored). Rackspace also has managed Cloud Sites, which essentially matches the exact need stated above. The problem is that their pricing isn't anywhere near entry-level. While Cloud Sites do cost about an eighth the price of Managed Cloud Servers with comparable power, we're still talking a minimum of $150/month. :-(
That's when a Google ad had led me to Stephen Pickering of http://RackspaceReseller.com . Though it did take me a while to "get" it, what he's doing is "slicing" those $150/mo account(s) into much smaller ones, so that one can get the same speed and power, just with less bandwidth/storage/computation/etc., for only $5/month. Future growth is apparently trivial: just add money, without having to move files and databases.
So that's exactly what I did: http://AboutTh.is is now hosted on a very thin slice of Stephen's Rackspace Cloud Sites account, for a whopping $5 investment. :-) He's been incredibly helpful and responsive, and it was rather trivial to move the files and settings over from GoDaddy.
