Nicest apartments/Areas to live in? Moving soon!

Hey y’all!

I just got accepted into a PhD program at OU and will be moving to Norman in late July/early August! I’m trying to get a feel for the nicest and safest area to live at in Norman or the surrounding areas. I’m even willing to commute from OKC!

We would prefer to rent a 2 bed and would also prefer to stay under $1,600 a month. Obviously, since I’ll be a full time student again, the cheaper the better! If it means we have to rent a 1 bed to fit our budget and live in a nice area, then we are open to that as well!

Any tips or tricks to finding the best places to live? What neighborhoods should we be looking in? Which should we avoid? Any specific apartment complexes that are really nice?