Other than an extreme example like maybe San francisco or LA there are affordable areas to live in , in most cities.
the question is do you want to live in a city where you're on top of your neighbors or do you prefer to live in the suburbs where you have a little space from your neighbors.
my daughter lives in a nice house she bought in a nice neighborhood in baltimore. She likes living in a city I could never live like that.
Again: you're projecting what you think on to everyone else.
Some people want to live in the country on 20 acres with nobody in sight.
Some people want to live in the suburbs in houses.
Some people want to live in the suburbs in apartments.
Some people want to live in the city.
Just because you love love love the suburbs doesn't mean everyone wants to live the same way.
There needs to be a reasonable housing stock for people to have options and not have economic stresses on the market that push prices out of the reach of normal people.