Typical apartments in the US seem to be around 700-800 square feet, with one or two bedrooms, so not "tiny". These may or may not be located in walkable neighborhoods or with easy access to city center, it depends on the city. As an anecdote in Seattle, which is better at this than most cities, I have a one bedroom flat that is almost 1200 square feet and can walk to everything except the airport, for which there is public transit. Not unreasonably priced, though not inexpensive either. There are dozens of bars, restaurants, cafes, etc within a few blocks as well as several shops of all types.