Over the years, things have really changed in Auburn as far as rentals. The formerly best of apartment complexes have become something else, because of the renters. Standards for tenants have changed drastically.

I've lived in the same apartment complex since 1985. It has steadily gotten worse, much worse, over the last 5-7 years. I looked at a couple of other places that used to have high standards for tenants, and they have gone to hell. It was seriously shocking to see what has become of this town, as far as the rentals that are not high-priced.

Our situation is that we are a married couple, both smokers, with a dog. Anyone who thinks that those things are bad is severely out of touch, from what I have seen. What has transformed the life we used to have at home is tweakers, primitives that think the world is their toilet, people who get pit bull dogs for nefarious reasons, and teenagers that think that the garbage can for cigarette butts is the roof of the downstairs utility room. Nightime is to party, and daytime is to sleep, for these people. I am really sad about this, because it has been a great place to live for a long time.

We are in the market for another rental, whether house or apartment. In fact, if the economy collapses to a certain point, we could buy a house. The cutest house I've seen is too small for us, a third less square-footage than our apartment. It's also way overpriced. I wish we could downsize, but it would be very difficult.

The kind of places I've seen that used to be good, and I don't know how they are now, are the pink (not green Huber) apartments on Dorer Drive, and the ones on Pacific Street (not Crestview, although I don't know anything about Crestview beyond its name). We like downtown Auburn.

Any input or inside info will be appreciated. As far as renting, it doesn't matter to us whether the residence is a house or apartment, but we are very frugal (and anal! This is a plus! LOL). Even though we are smokers, we highly disapprove of cigarette butts that are improperly disposed of. We also love hardwood floors.