Ah-ha! Much better explanation of your dilemma now.
You eat an elephant one bite at a time. Do not allow yourself to be distracted by what you cannot control or influence. Focus on one thing at a time that is in your control.
Example:
Let’s start with
This is the fix that does not require a ton of time, effort, expert coaching, and money to develop skills you do not have. Start here!
Doors & Windows - there are some good tutorial videos and articles from USCCA on this stuff. Replace the screws in your door jams with 3 1/2" deck screws. These don’t cost much. Have a screwdriver? They’re cheap, too! Make sure your window locks work. Walk around your house/apartment and inspect the windows and ask yourself: how would I get in here if I was trying to break in or sneak in? Then make that time consuming, difficult, risky, and/or noisy in the simplest and least expensive way you can come up with.
If you aren’t a big fella with work boots, go to a second hand shop or garage sale and buy a pair of the biggest, old work boots you can find. Set them in plain view of any rear entrance to your home, but where some kid or dog won’t make off with them. (ie just inside the door or on a screened porch) You should be able to do this for about $5-10. It will deter a LOT of would-be burglars/home invaders without raising suspicion or offending anyone. Similarly, find a good window decal that firemen, welders, plumbers, or oilfield workers would have on their truck/window at home. Buy it. Put it on the front window/screen door glass nearest your main entrance. I have a deaf neighbor 2 doors down who has never served in the military because he was born deaf. He now flies a USMC flag on the front of his house. He has a tiny dog, but now has a mammoth dog bowl on his porch. Several months ago, he came to me asking about AR 15 basics. I helped him with that stuff, but made some far more effective deterrent suggestions which will probably make the AR 15 he bought irrelevant. Get the picture? Keep it simple! Deterrence = Job #1 for someone like you!
Meanwhile, make sure you are not neglecting SAFETY in favor of security. Make sure you have a good first aid kit and fire extinguisher.
Next, save up for a decent DIY home alarm system. Research these and figure out which is best for you. You can do this for under $200 nowadays. There are system packages for people who do not have wi-fi, too. There are gadgets you can set on a window sill (inside) that will sound an alarm if they are moved, but you can also put some cheap jingle bells on a string inside the window sill. Marbles in an empty peach can on a string works, too. There is no shortage of “Hillbilly Ingenuity” solutions for home security. But a decent modern alarm system for a small house or apartment is cheaper than a gun by a good margin. And you should have that before you buy a gun. If you sleep through the break-in, the gun will end up being used against you as likely as not. Early warnings = job #2 for someone in your situation.
Work this stuff out first. That .22 is not nearly as bad of a choice of self-defense weapon as you have been led to believe by people whose industry is fueled by the sale of guns and ammo. Could be better, but sure beats throwing rocks or swinging a hammer at a bad guy! Speaking of which, hammers, ball bats, etc. are great self-defense tools of last resort. Way better than fists and feet! Get all this other stuff squared away before you even begin to worry about a firearm. You will feel WAY better about self-defense because you will actually be ready – far ahead of the pack and with solid fundamentals instead of hype and delusions designed to transfer your $$$ to someone else’s bank account.
All the best!
You will learn to deal with it.
