I have a casual question for the casual thread.

I've been living in a group has with 5 people total in Arlington for the past 4 1/2 years and I'm interested in moving into an apartment, either my own apartment or an apartment with 1 roommate. My budget isn't super high, probably $1,400 a month max, but I'm ok with a studio if I'm priced out of a one bedroom (though I'd prefer a 1 bedroom).

Anyways, there are a million apartment complexes in DC and southern Maryland/Northern Virginia, they're building like 10 new ones a day. I've never lived in an apartment before, I've only rented rooms in houses through Craigslist, and I can't figure out what the best to apartment hunt is. Most of the websites I find for apartments around here seem unclear on prices/availability and have limited photos.

One apartment complex I was looking at nearby didn't list prices or even say if any apartments were available on their website, AND it said not to stop by the apartment office to find out, and that the only way to find out any information at all was to schedule an appointment to meet with someone, which in my humble opinion is very dumb.

Anyways, for those of you living in apartments in DC or Northern Virginia/Southern MD (i.e. within commuting distance into DC), how do you find your apartment? What websites did you use, and what worked the best for you?