How do you secure your own housing?

Internet search the town you are going to then look for hotels/motels and apartments for rent. This has at least given me a starting point. You can ask your department manager if they have any ideas, also HR! Again online look up the local newspaper and look through the classifieds. This all seems to work for me anyway! Or has so far
Sarge

also check out they city you are moving to at: http://www.city-data.com/

when i thought i was moving and was looking at housing, i contacted other students on here in the area and asked them about good locations (safe, affordable). i also looked on the city-data website and could look up particular neighborhoods and streets to see if it was a good fit. maybe that will help...

I also agree with using citydata to find out the safe areas. Also rent.com is pretty good and you can read reviews on apartmentratigs.com. This is how I found my place in FL coming from NY.

Good luck!

I found my last place on craigslist.com. It was a Seattle area assignment and I looked under the sublets and temporary housing section. These are more apt to lease something for a 13 week assignment. I got a $1500/mo housing stipend and believe me, I could have used it all on a super nice, luxury place in the heart of downtown.

Instead, I found a mother-in-law basement apartment for lease for $650/month. It was a studio apartment, had a fridge, sink, stove, dishes, linens, etc. Included all bills, cable TV. Queen sized bed, a little living area with couch and chair, a 2 seater kitchen table. I had my own private entrance and the couple couldn't have been nicer. You can also look under the shared housing section and you could find a room for rent, perhaps even with another traveler.