Rental homes/Townhomes in Aiken/North Augusta (apartment, crime)

[wilmygirl]

We are relocating to Aiken/Augusta next month (June) and are having a difficult time finding a rental home or townhome. We do not want to live in an apartment again. We hated that atmosphere, and have enjoyed our peaceful neighborhood in the Wilmington, NC area where we've lived for years. I'm a NC native, and my husband is from GA..but not this area. We have had only 2 responses regarding townhome rentals and both are located in Augusta. We haven't found any rental homes that are in our price range. We are looking for a rental in a safe neighborhood, that is in good shape and not run down in appearance! It has to accept cats, as well. We are looking for something around Aiken, preferably, or perhaps North Augusta, but it's looking like Augusta may have to be the only place available. My husband has accepted a position at the SRS, but we don't want to be out in the rural part of the area. Any suggestions? I've done searches, but the one or two places I've found do not respond to inquiries. ?? We're looking for a townhome/rental home for $500-650 if possible..most likely we'll have to rent a townhouse over a home for that price..but with me not having a job moving down, we have to base our rent on a low amount. We don't want something junky and crime ridden. It's difficult b/c all I hear about Augusta is bad news..but it seemed nice when we visited. ??