Renting in Houston

Hello, r/houston

I was looking for the first time today, with the intention to rent an apartment in the $1000 to the $1400 range, and I'm running into apartments that are unavailable to me because they are income restricted.

My job requires me to be away from whatever place I rent for a long time(months) so I don't want to pay a lot for a place I won't even be using most of the time.

Any advice on how rent in Houston welcome. Or renting in general, really. I'm a first time renter, and It's been frustrating to figure this out.

Edit: Also, I'm not from Texas. It's hard to find a roommate in a place where everyone is a stranger.