I recently purchased an ebike, it's a utility bike so it's solid for carrying cargo, I put a 70L pannier bag on the rack and attached a basket on the front. With a backpack, you can carry a lot of stuff, I do my weekly grocery shopping with ease on it. Outside of the EU, you can use the throttle, no peddling required, but if you want to pedal there is pedal assist, which makes riding like walking on air. Inclines and riding against the wind is no problem, I've taken it out during windy light snow conditions. A decent one goes for around $1200. Ebikes are heavy, mine is around 70lbs, so if you live in an apartment, check its weight. Folding ones will make it slightly easier to carry.

oh yeah, if it doesn't already include an alarm, get one. You can get them cheap on aliexpress. It's basically activated by the slightest touch of your bike. I've seen too many pictures of expensive u-locks getting hacked, pryed apart and bike stolen. At least the loud alarm will scare off a potential thief