Where I went to school, there were strict requirements about where you could live while attending. It had to be a school-approved apartment building, or else you had to submit a form to get permission to live somewhere outside those areas (such as living with a relative, for example). School-approved apartments needed to enforce similar rules of conduct as the school itself, including rules against drinking and drug use. They also needed to have desperate units for single men and women. So unless they’re married, a guy and a gal can’t be roommates. I’m not sure how common this restriction is, but I’d hazard a guess that’s it’s similar for other private religious schools, at least. As you can imagine, this can make finding housing a little more tricky by throwing an extra variable into things; it’s disheartening to see half the options disappear once you turn on the “single male housing” filter!

The other two house-hunting panels accurately reflect some of the other prospects I found on my own search. Everything seemed either cheap and sketchy, or else expensive and ritzy. Not much in between.

Don’t give up hope though, Ine! You’ll find something eventually! 😅

Completed page: https://awwfeathers.com/comics/page016/