K8s single noder and GKE user here, can confirm I wouldn't remotely even consider going back. Deploying an app takes 5-10 minutes at most first time around, new pushes <1 minute, and when there is ops bullshit involved, it is never wasted work, and never needs to be repeated twice.

I hated Kubernetes ops complexity at first, but there really isn't that much to it, and if it's too much, a service like GKE takes 70%+ of it away from you