We recently moved to Linode from AWS (after the recent AWScalypse)
However, the problem we currently face with linode is that the Disk spaces are puny and "attaching" additional storage is very costly as compared to AWS. There is no reduced pricing for Yearly contract either.
Love their sub-minute support times. Can't beat dat!
Prepaying for a year saves you 10%, prepaying for 2 years saves 15. If you already have an account, just open a ticket and you'll have the discount in minutes.
And, even if you prepay, you can still cancel and get a full refund. Even if you know you'll only use the server for 1 month, prepaying for 2 years is a smart move!
Keep in mind that if you prepay for 2 years, use the server, and cancel before the 2 years ends, you're refunded the amount paid minus the normal monthly charge times the number of months you used the service. The discount gets wiped away, at least it did for me.
My understanding is that Linodes aren't really "for" storage. IIRC it's often more cost-effective to just upgrade to a larger Linode than to add additional storage.
I'd recommend storing bulk data on S3, but as you said, you're wary of AWS :)
EC2 has had some issues in the past, but did those issues affect S3?
Even if you're on linode, you might find sending large binaries to S3 is a cost-efficient way to increase your storage size. Plus, you have a built in CDN when you need it.
However, the problem we currently face with linode is that the Disk spaces are puny and "attaching" additional storage is very costly as compared to AWS. There is no reduced pricing for Yearly contract either.
Love their sub-minute support times. Can't beat dat!