I (for similar reasons to yours) didn't do the upgrade 1.5 -> SDXL until last week. I found the upgrade totally easy in the end. I just had to update A1111, do

I (for similar reasons to yours) didn't do the upgrade 1.5 -> SDXL until last week. I found the upgrade totally easy in the end. I just had to update A1111, download the sdxl model, download the sdxl refiner model and set the refiner in the refiner dropdown. That's it. So compared to other models it is just one additional dropdown click. You won't be able to use the LoRAs, etc. you are used to, but you can download new ones that are compatible with SDXL.