Originally Posted by NuffZed

Absolutely get the stick. Driving a stick is a fantastic skill that you will keep for life. It's also more personal than an auto. You will get to know your car better because you'll learn how it feels. Tough to describe but you'll understand later. I do suggest you rent a car with a stick first and learn on that as it will save your clutch much abuse.

Good luck with all this I won't preach practicality to you because it never worked on me either