Try looking on craigslist. You can find apartment that aren't in apartment complexes that may let you avoid some of the bad parts of living in a complex. That's where you would find people that are renting out apartments over their garage or in their basement. I've browsed there before and some of it's pretty nice. It's the best place to find stuff if you want to live intown.

But, I'll never live in an apartment again. I love having a house and a garage. I lived in an apartment for the first two years I was in Atlanta though because I didn't know how long I would be here or what part of town I wanted to be in. Now I'm all settled and the house is great.