On the topic of what other databases do better: I much prefer Postgres to Mysql because it has better string functions and better as well as very courteous error messages.
Martin, I definitely sympathize. The company I used to work for before I retired (and still advise) is moving from the in-house membership system I built for them over the last 20 years to CIVI-CRM, which is MySQL based. We used MySQL on our Joomla-based website and I've been doing some work in WordPress, so I've got some familiarity with MySQL(more than I used to have), but it still drives me nuts at times!