I like the idea of learning (on an empty, level area) to get the car rolling without pressing the throttle. I tried this with my niece after my sister tried for months to teach her and she was driving a stick within a couple days.
Even after 20+ years of driving, I am still a manual transmission fan. I live in the topographically challenging city of Pittsburgh, and I’ve found that a good tranny can make much more effective use of an engine’s power. This is much more apparent if your car does not have an excessively large motor. I used to have a 5-speed Saturn SL-2 and a friend had the same model with the 4-speed automatic. The difference in uphill acceleration between the two cars was striking! The 5-speed took uphill grades much more gracefully. If the clutch is well-mastered, driving a stick in a hilly area isn’t really that big a deal.