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Chances are that if a nice new house has septic, then connecting to city system wasn't an option (at least around here). Some older places never transitioned over, and would be outliers in their neighborhoods. Connecting later, after they install city lines can be expensive. If I had a choice I'd probably prefer city sewers, but our current place is on septic and I don't mind at all. I certainly wouldn't pass up a nice house just for this reason.
There are some extra needs/hassles, but relatively minor - you have to have some restraint about what you flush down drains (grease, things that don't disolve, that stale gas from the project you are rebuilding, etc). The tank needs cleaned out, but we pay a guy a few hundred every 3 or 4 years, and just need to re-seed a 2x2 patch in the lawn where they dig down to the port. You can push this quite a ways, like 5-10 years depending on how much you are putting into it, but then they can have bigger issues so we just do it on a schedule. You also have to avoid building (or driving really heavy trucks) over the tank or leach field. They get a bad rap, but the Hollywood thing with a huge reeking bog of sewage in your lawn is about as likely as actually blowing engine parts through your hood - a truly worst-case rarity.
The big advantage to septic is that it is almost impossible to have your sewer back up into the house - our first home would have flood overflow (with the sewage mixed in) back up into the basement during big rains that overwhelmed the main lines. They also usually have much shorter main feed runs, so less issues with roots growing in, etc.
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