Hi!

I'm moving to Houston early next month and am looking for a room or studio apartment to rent. I haven't had much luck searching Craigslist for roommates and Roommates.com has also been fruitless. I'm not opposed to signing a lease but have had some bad landlords recently and don't know Houston *that* well yet and so don't want to end up in a bad part of town. Having roommates feels like it would be more economical, too.

About me: I'm a 34 y/o single female with an adult male cat who is fixed and who was also declawed when I adopted him. He's super chill and great around other pets. I will be driving Uber and delivering UberEats for work. I'm quiet, don't drink or party and am going to be spending the next 6 months to a year paying off some debt and saving money. I currently live in Austin but want to be closer to family in Houston.

I'm flexible with most everything, my only absolutes are must allow my cat, and no late night partying/heavy drinkers and not insanely far from the heights/midtown area. I was paying $900/mo for my apartment in Austin and would ideally like to pay less.

My question/tldr: how does one go about finding good roommates these days or should I just go ahead and sign a lease on a studio or one bedroom? I want to be economical but also don't want to end up living with crazies.