Apartment search help 😅

Hi there yall! Referring to Reddit because I’m relocating to Houston and don’t know many people there.

Can anyone suggest the top apartments to NOT rent and a few gems that they have rented and enjoyed/it was liveable?

Having to rely on Yelp and Google reviews is scary. I’ve seen it all from people getting shot and killed in apartments, roaches, fire alarms going off for no reason, apartments that then into night clubs every night and weekend because of young neighbors, people’s apartment doors getting kicked in…..I can understand car break ins cuz here in Cali it is very bad too but the scariest part about all the reviews is HOW MANY complexes are bribing residents to write 5 star reviews in exchange for something. It’s becoming exhausting at this point. Having to scroll through all the reviews to filter out the people that actually live there writing a genuine review, people that just visited the apartment or just passed by on the street and leaving a 5 star review, and then the ones that have bribed their residents with cakes or gift cards AND a few of them were outted for having the actual leasing agents write reviews !

I’m interested in all areas of Houston that are more on the high end/affluent side like River Oaks, Montrose , but flexible to any area relatively safe. Also I need to mention I’m a black woman. I shouldn’t even have to say that but I saw a lot of apartments that had reviews of black residents facing racism and getting picked on. Other than that I’m a graphic designer, work at home and max budget is $1,600. Like I said I can be flexible on the area but just if anyone can give me more places to AVOID that would help. So far on my green list I have the 255 assay, Alta med and Inverness Apartments.

Of course I know that no place is perfect but any residents that can recommend sure fire places to avoid I would love the help and any advice.

Also I want to mention I found two apartment locator services and both of which recommended most of the apartments I read horrible reviews about, so I’m not so trusting of them because I know they are just tying to get commission.

TL;DR: Name any apartments you’ve lived at that you would recommend other seekers avoid or recommend apartments that you have a decent/ liveable experience at and would probably recommend.