Good luck moving up, 'cause I'm moving out

So, my roommate got a new job and has decided to move at the end of the current lease, which runs out April 30. Since I'm not really looking to room with anyone else until the day Alma and I finally get to share a bedroom full-time, that means finding a studio somewhere... which means, for the first time in my life, I actually have to go apartment hunting. It's going to be kind of weird. Aside from the house I grew up in in South Orange, I've never lived anywhere as long as I have here:

September 1982 - March 1986: 325 Barberry Rd, Highland Park, IL
March 1986 - September 2000, plus summers of 2001 and 2002: 162 Irving Ave, South Orange, NJ
September 2000 - June 2001: 1835 Hinman, double (with Rich)
September 2001 - June 2002: 1835 Hinman, single
September 2002 - June 2003: Kemper, single
June 2003 - September 2003: Woodmont Ave, Bethesda, MD
September 2003 - June 2004: NMQ, single
July 2004 - August 2004: Sublet at Sherman and Noyes, Evanston
August 2004 - present: Current residence

The sublet, I knew someone who was friends with the subletter, and obviously I got the current one through Drew (although, to be fair to me, he pretty much fell into it as well), so I've literally never had to do anything like this before. It's going to be interesting, but also scary as hell, mostly because I am not very good at dealing with people who know a lot about things that I don't know as much about. I mean, I know how much I can afford to pay, or at least how much they say you're supposed to be able to afford - 30% of your salary, or 35% if utilities are included! - and I also know how much I want to spend (no more than I'm spending now, and ideally less so I can start saving again, though that won't be easy). And I also know what areas I'm looking at. So at least it's a start. There's already a couple places on the radar screen, although there are a number of variables up in the air right now.

Really this will probably be good for me - I've spent most of my life post-high-school generally managing to avoid making adult decisions, but I mean, I'm 25. I think it's time to realize that I can't keep relying on other people to do things for me. You'd think I'd know this already - I pay the bills, I work, etc. - but it takes a while to sink in. Having to fully commit to an apartment search and move is just another step towards figuring it all out.