I gave up dragging the upright around years ago because of its size and amplification issues, so maybe I understand your issues. Go fretless. Godin makes a nice one if you can stand the piezo pickup quack. I test drove one last week for the local retailer and it played as well as the one I played for years, though the pickup wasn't as natural sounding as mine was for whatever reason. I prefer magnetic pickups on electric bass anyway.

The Godin fretted basses are very nice too. OLP, the Ernie Ball cheap brand, makes a nice basic 4 and 5 string bass. Mid level and higher Fenders will service you well. Many of my students have chosen Yamaha because they're readily available locally, but they don't impress me much, sound wise.

Shop second hand too, there are lots of fretted ones around, fewer fretless.

Peace, Mooh.