Another option would be a Giant Escape. This one:
https://www.giant-bicycles.com/us/escape-2-disc is right on your budget (the 2021 version will be out soon and will probably be all but identical). The bike's rated for 300 lbs, but if you are careful, it should be okay. If you go for a bike like this, rated to 300 lbs of rider and baggage weight, you should take really good care of the wheels. The frame should be fine--Giant frames are usually built like a Bulgarian Shot Put champion--but their wheels are often the weak point. You can have a bike mechanic tune them up every few weeks and have their hubs rebuilt every few thousand kilometers (ball bearings changed and grease reapplied) or buy the tools and spare parts and learn to do the job yourself. Being obsessive about hubs will keep a cheaper bike going for much longer than it otherwise would.