Stick is a PITA in the city if your clutch pressure mimics doing 300# leg lifts!
I learned to drive stick in my old Beetle...VERY forgiving manual setups, perfect for first-timers.
Came in handy later when I had to drive the music store's piano delivery truck with a "three on the tree"!
I remember when I purchased my first new car, a Mazda MX-6. Deliberately selected the manual tranny so my girlfriend would not be able to drive it!
If more people drove manual-equipped vehicles, we wouldn't be seeing threads about "banning texting while driving"...