Exactly this. I'm lucky though in that I signed up when it was Google Apps for Domains (and free). I've been using it for years without paying (having been grandfathered in). If I ever decide that I don't want to be on Google anymore, I can take my domain and move to (e.g.) FastMail without having to go through the pain of shifting everything over. I don't have to:
* spam everyone I know to use a new email address.
* go through authorship information in any READMEs out there for projects I may contribute to.
* deal with an invalid email address embedded in public commits (ala Github).
* deal with possibly important, time-sensitive emails ending up in a blackhole.
* updating email information for online accounts. Especially for sites that use a combo of email address/password rather than login/password.
* etc...
I only have to pay ~$12/year (or less if I buy years in bulk) to keep the domain, and I also get the benefit of being able to grant emails on the domain to other people too.
* spam everyone I know to use a new email address.
* go through authorship information in any READMEs out there for projects I may contribute to.
* deal with an invalid email address embedded in public commits (ala Github).
* deal with possibly important, time-sensitive emails ending up in a blackhole.
* updating email information for online accounts. Especially for sites that use a combo of email address/password rather than login/password.
* etc...
I only have to pay ~$12/year (or less if I buy years in bulk) to keep the domain, and I also get the benefit of being able to grant emails on the domain to other people too.