I've always been a city mouse. Currently we live with a light rail stop outside our door, Safeway, a mom n pop butcher and a veggie market all across the street, dry cleaner, bank, branch of world class library, restaurants all within a couple blocks. Yes our housing costs are way more but the simplicity of having everything so close is awesome. I don't necessarily need a yard. Maybe once we retire but for now that just sounds like more work to care for. My simplist lifestyle was the 250 sq foot apartment I lived in in NYC for 12 years. I was a 15 minute walk from work and the apartment was so small that I could clean the whole thing in no time.
That said, we don't own our apartment and although decently paid we don't work in tech or make tech level wages/bonuses so retiring here won't be an option. I'm with Gardenian on the idea of a college town. Many of the same benefits at a fraction of the housing cost.