Zend certified PHP/Magento developer

Magento upgrade 1.9.3 to 2.3

I need to upgrade magento 1.9.3 to 2.3. I have read the migration process at magento docs and other sites. Now I have a few questions-
1. Magento 2.3 requires php 7 while our magento 1.9 does not support php 7. I have found a patch but I am not confident about this as I do not want to distrub the running site. Should I try this patch?
2. We can move to a new server also if that makes things easier. Should I try to install this in a new folder at the present server and later redirect it to the new installation or install at new server and change the dns? What will you suggest? I am in a position to do both of them.
THanks a lot for your time.