I’d second that amateur radio is way more than just chatting. There are so many digital modes, SDR, etc that can be explored. May be worth getting a mobile rig that can be pulled out and used in the QTH as well.
As a ham I’m helping right now to establish a backbone of Meshtastic radios across our city. It’s not ham radio, but it is something I can use my ham experience to build out and support others.
Personally I’ve been enjoying VarAc on HF for long range comms on low power, but I see they just standardised on some 2m and 70cm frequencies too, which I still want to try out.