They each have housing sections on their bulletin boards. These have proved to be excellent sources for students at Bastyr University. Newspapers provide another source. They publish a joint Sunday paper, available as early as Saturday. On the East side, another daily is The Journal American.
Many communities publish weekly newspapers that often contain housing classifieds.
Talk to managers of any apartment buildings that catch your eye. Put in an application even if there are not any vacancies at the time. Bring along someone who is living off campus and ask a lot of questions. This may be time-consuming, but many believe it is well worth the effort. These tend to be larger complexes that often have additional amenities including swimming pools, tennis courts, clubhouses and more.