Hi and welcome
I've been in your position, looking for that "just right " scope! Enjoy the ride; I had a ball looking for the best option...now my humble opinion (and I stress, it's my
opinion!)
I too was tossing up between a Nexstar scope (a 130SLT) and I also was asking questions about Dobsonian scopes as well. After some good advice from the Bintel guys (in Glebe), I decided on an 8" Dob and I can honestly say that I made the right decision, for me.
I understand you wanting a "goto" scope, but something worth weighing up is that it does not take that long to find alot of stuff in the night sky, with a little "elbow grease"! I actually enjoy trying to find stuff the old fashioned way! An 8" Dob would cost you about $500 and leave you plenty to buy a couple of good Eyepieces and maybe a Barlow lens as well.
The extra cost of a Nexstar scope is not going to give you a view like an 8" Dob will; HOWEVER, if you want to have a Goto scope, then the Dob version (as mentioned by Dunk) is quite pricey.
I'm sure you'll make a decision you'll be happy with