Most large cities will have apartment/house locators. They'll give you a survey to find out your wants and needs in a place and they'll help you find out about them. Also check out places like www.springstreet.com, www.apartments.com. Many apartment locators now have websites.

After you have limited your choises to say 5 or so, you can contact the local police department and find out about the level of insidents reported in the area. You probalby won't beable to get specifics, but they should be able to tell you, that X were for disturbing the piece, X for car theif/robbery, X for domestic dispute.

Sometimes its best to get an opinon from a resident. Being that you said you didn't know anyone. You still may have other resources availble to you. Look up a local church in the area that you might go to when you move, explain to the staff your predicument. They should have some recommendations, or parishiers to talk to. If you plan on being involved in an organization - contact their local office. Look for alum from your college in the area to consult. Or contact the human resources department/person at the place you are looking at for a job. Also, do a web search, you might beable to find a few forums that discuss regional issues. But do consider the source with anyone you are talking to.

Best of Luck