Loving the NUC. You’re paying about what I paid and getting twice the RAM and twice the SSD space, so, from where I’m sitting, it looks like a good deal. I’ve got 4 VMs running on mine–and one of those is running about 8 containerized apps–so I’d say you should have room to do whatever you want with that bad boy.
If you’re doing any kind of media center, I would definitely prioritize high speed Internet and hardwired connections as well. I hardwired my whole house for my project.
I added a 4TB external drive to mine, which should easily fit within your budget, and I’d recommend it if, again, you’re doing media stuff.