I wouldn't agree with this all-or-nothing view that ignores public transport. Yes, plenty of people want to live in the city, so it's dense, but if you live a bit outside, you can hop on a local train and be in the city in 30 minutes.

Also, Paris is an extreme example. There's plenty of mid-sized cities (400k to 1 million or so) in Europe and presumably elsewhere where you can live in a quiet space, maybe even have access to a garden, and hop on the tram or your bike, and be downtown in 20 minutes, without parking lots.

So, you can definitely have both. These places exist.