I found EchelonMC and it is a hand built survival SMP that is made to last. It is hosted in Canada and it has had about two months of active development. The owner Eddy builds it based on what players suggest and they say over 100 suggestions are already in.
This server is trying to feel different from recycled SMPs. It is custom built from scratch and it is not pay to win. It also says there are no resets planned so your long term builds can stay.
A big part is the Echelites currency. You earn it just by playing like mining farming fishing exploring and building. Then you can spend it on progression and quality of life upgrades.
Land claiming looks really deep here with visual borders and chunk settings plus TNT and creeper control fire spread protection raid prevention and more. There are teams with invites and private team chat. There are public builds you can list so people can visit vote and climb rankings. It also has timed graves to help you recover items in a balanced way.
The vibe is community driven and focused on real progression and strong community with no griefing focus.
