You need a place to stay. You open up your local guide to apartments and start flipping through the listings. Chances are, you're mostly looking at price. This is a natural starting point for many potential renters, but it hardly tells the whole story. If you're going to live in a place - even for as short as a year - you should be confident about the decision. There are three things that you should take into consideration when looking for a place to live.
Location
The majority of the time, you're not going to find a really nice set of apartments in a really low class neighborhood. Still, it does happen and you need to be aware of the possibility. Regardless of gates, security, and a facade of beauty, a complex in the middle of a downtrodden area is not going to be a great place to live. On the other hand, a shady looking complex that happens to be in the middle of a wonderful area of town may very well be much safer than it appears. Location is key when determining where to live. In addition to safety concerns, of course, you'll also want to consider how close you are to work and your favorite shopping areas.