You make the Bay Area sound like a somewhat dystopian, closed and repressive place. Is it really like that?
It's definitely a cultural bubble (as is california in general, to generalize for a second).
Whether you believe the bubble is closed and repressive or open and progressive depends on your point of view.
IE California considers itself open and progressive, and cultural bubbles in the US as closed and repressive. Those cultural bubbles consider California closed and repressive, and themselves open and progressive.