Search continues. Had a nice offer from a coworker's brother who needed to get out of a lease; it was a nice, big place and he was offering to help with the rent, but it's in Chandler and I ultimately opted to stay in Tempe. My grandmother's pushing pretty hard for me to move into the house nextdoor to her (which she owns); frankly that would feel a little like moving back in with them but it's a gorgeous house and she's offering me a great deal on it.
Still looking at apartments. My #1 pick doesn't have any 2-bed 1-bath rooms on the ground floor at the moment; there's a 2-bed 2-bath, but since I'd be living alone the second bathroom is pretty much just wasted space and a wasted $50 a month, and also it's not really ground level but slightly underground, thus having the major drawbacks of a ground-level apartment (bugs, target for break-ins) without the major benefit (hauling your shit in without having to take the stairs).
I checked the reviews on my #2 pick and holy shit it has apparently gone to hell just in the month since I checked it out: there are like 5 new reviews all talking about multiple recent crimes there where the police have been called. Burglary, domestic disturbances, drug deals...well, I guess for the kind of deals they're offering, they were bound to attract low-income people, some of whom are bound to be criminals.
Frankly that house next to my grandparents is sounding like a better deal all the time.
