> which is just similar to Python

What? Am I the only one who hates VBA with a burning hatred of a thousand suns?

That's a common opinion.

The object model and IDE are a big part of it though, maybe even more so than syntax horrors like while..wend vs do while..loop.

The libraries in VisualBasic (before .net) do suck. But syntactically, Python and Basic are very close. I hate both very much, because all the nice features that make programming fun are lacking. Both feel very much like using a childs' toy instead of proper tools.

VBA is very 90s. As in, similar to 90s era java, right up to the built-in IDE.

I code in VBA constantly as a Finance Manager. I also spend a lot of time learning Python and used it throughout a CS Degree. VBA and Python are not alike at all IMO.

You are right that you can use something like C# to manipulate Excel files, but there isn't a ton of tutorials on it, which makes it difficult and prohibitive to learn.