I grew up in a city of mostly rowhomes and I love them. Plan on buying one one day.
You still get walk-ability, sense of community and good population density (not as good as a high-rise but still good), but also more privacy, and the space is more conducive to raising a family than an apartment. Also they’re cute as fuck and people can paint them different colors and have cool little gardens on their porches and stuff.
I would not advocate building stairs up the the door in modern building. I just think it’s pretty.
That said, yes, I regularly carry my bike up stairs. It’s just part of bike commuting in America.