Welcome to the club. I am in the process of eliminating the derailleurs from the last of my personal bikes, and I really push the gearhubs in my store. I have sold a good number of Nexus and Sturmey Archer gearhubs to (so far,) very satisfied customers. For commuting or leisure bikes, they are the way to go in my opinion.
For off road or touring, there is always the Rohloff which I have in my mountain bike, and I am about to install one in the recumbent I am in the process of restoring.
I am looking forward to the new gearhubs coming from Shimano and Sram in the near future. It's getting interesting.
Dan