Switch (Relatively) High Voltage from Logic Level
There has to be a simpler way to switch the higher voltage, right?


No, there isn't. Not from the high side. You can put a single N-channel FET on the low side of the load though.

If you use an open-drain or open-collector device where you have your 5V switch, you can reduce the parts count though by eliminating Q2. But conceptually it's the same thing.

Also, there exist integrated high-side switches that incorporate Q2. These can be frustrating to find for your application because a lot of them only go up to 8V on the high side (they shift from really low levels like 1.8V), e.g. TPS27081A, NTJD1155L, Si3865DDV. IPS511 would work for you voltage-wise, but it has more stuff in it than you probably want [over-temperature protection etc.] and I don't know if you can still buy it. Shop around, there are surely more.

There exist some high-side switch/driver arrays of this kind; TPD2005F would work and has parallel inputs. This one "cheats" by actually having a charge pump and N-MOSFETS as outputs. There are a lot more with serial inputs, e.g. AMIS-39101. You could of course just buy one such array dedicated for VFDs at this point, e.g. MAX6922, or even an integrated array+controller like STM86312.

Which one of these to chose depends how much of a DIY exercise you want to make of this...