For the average reader, semicolons are simply archaic, and there is always a contemporary — which is why you don't see them that often.

When they're used to indicate a separate larger than a comma but less than separate sentences, an em-dash works just a well without any of the pretense: from

"My wife would like tea; I would prefer coffee."

to

"My wife would like tea — I would prefer coffee."

And using them to separate list items which themselves contain commas is asking the reader to do too much work to parse things visually, since semicolons are so similar to commas. Literature can use parentheses or em dashes, while technical material can use lists. Observe how much easier all of the following transformations are to parse at a glance:

The people present were Jamie, a man from New Zealand; John, the milkman's son; and George, a gaunt kind of man with no friends.

The people present were Jamie (a man from New Zealand), John (the milkman's son), and George (a gaunt kind of man with no friends).

Several fast food restaurants can be found within the following cities: London, England; Paris, France; Dublin, Ireland; Madrid, Spain.

Several fast food restaurants can be found within the following cities: 1) London, England, 2) Paris, France, 3) Dublin, Ireland, and 4) Madrid, Spain.

Here are three examples of familiar sequences: one, two, and three; a, b, and c; first, second, and third.

Here are three examples of familiar sequences:

- one, two, and three

- a, b, and c

- first, second, and third.

In academic papers you can sometimes wind up having such hierarchies of information and restricted space (e.g. in footnotes) that semicolons become necessary, just like legal documents use § to mark sections... but academic writing and citations has all sorts of conventions of its own.