I LOVE your use of the word "demure" here -- although I'm not entirely sure what it means.

Polite and unassuming?

Shy?

Frugal?

Even though I'm not 100% sure what you mean, I think I've got a "demure, minimalistic lifestyle" myself.

In the Philadelphia suburbs, it's affordable.

But my son and his family live in the Bay Area, and I think what you're saying in this piece is 100% true.