Why be productive with your computer when you can spend your time refactoring your NixOS configs into a dendritic pattern?
Half-joking. I use NixOS and I enjoy it, but I'm not gonna pretend I don't spend a lot of time managing it (not that it needs managing per se). I obviously enjoy doing that though.
As for systemd avoidance, there's also Guix which uses Scheme and their own init (Shepherd I think). It looks pretty cool, but I went with Nix anyway since it's so much more popular. There's also the fact that Guix Systems is an FSF approved distribution which means that discussing proprietary Guix channels is strictly forbidden, which while admirable gets kind of old quickly.
I probably wouldn't host it at home, there are so many personal devices containing personal information on the network that I don't consider the risks involved worth it. I would get a VPS, even if they've increased in price lately. If you do set it up at home, you will have to harden the server and the network, and that requires a lot of time, knowledge and effort. Just keep this in mind!