Can't find literally anywhere affordable to rent.

My fiancé and I will be renting together after marriage, and we cannot find anywhere that is affordable and safe to rent. I'm in school, and my fiance wants me to prioritize that but if I do that means I cannot provide for the rent costs. Our maximum is $1800 a month and that won't get us a single bedroom, and even studios seem to be more expensive than that once we factor in parking costs(if the complex has parking at all) and utilities.

We just interviewed two potential options, one the property management is never available, and the other complex has people selling fentanyl out of one of the attics in the complex.

My question is, where is everyone finding apartments that they can afford, and is there anywhere that would be affordable and safe, or is that a pipedream?