You are certainly correct that it's a matter of lifestyle preference.

> You don't need half an acre to sleep.

Where do I put my vegetable garden and fruit trees?

How can I relax on my back porch listening to the birds and creek?

How do I get away from all the hustle and bustle of dense city living?

> plenty of stuff available at walking distance. And you can't have that without high population density and yeah "pods".

Exhaust, brake dust, sirens, litter, concrete jungle, noisy neighbors with thin walls, massive crowds/traffic... there are tradeoffs to living in a dense city.

I think the Pareto optimal living conditions in the US today are the suburbs bordering the rural outskirts. Especially now with WFH prevalence.