You have plenty of people helping you with predictions (which I'm also not very good at), and I can't in good conscience pick on your food spending or other bills. But I have two questions:
1) What defines a "decent" apartment? You said location is important, but what about the location? Are you certain other areas of the city don't fit most of your requirements, and offer lower rent for not fitting others? Now on to the apartment: size, style, and amenities determine rent (as well as location of course). Can you find and make do with a smaller apartment (fewer BR or SF)? Or one with slightly inferior style (laminate instead of hardwood, etc)? Or simpler or absent appliances that present minor inconveniences (no dishwasher? in-building vs in-unit laundry?) And of course, probably lacking some in-demand amenities (pool? gym? "clubhouse"? roof deck? but how much is access to these things costing you, whether or not you use it?)
I realize this might be hard to find in a swanky area with high demand for luxury apartments. Which is another reason I think it's worth considering if other locations will fit the bill. By the way, if you'd said you were in SF or NYC, I'd probably not question the rent (it's probably a closet sized studio in those places?) but I am not familiar with any midwestern cities that don't have more affordable options...
2) What's your standard of travel? and perhaps more importantly, what's the GOAL of your travel? Because you can travel a lot of ways, from guided tour packages and luxury hotels and resorts to backpacking, hostels, Couchsurfing, and WWOOF. Bf and I have gotten involved in Couchsurfing since moving in together, and have made friends from/in Denmark and Moscow, who have both offered to reciprocate should we ever come out their way. It can be nerve-wracking at first, but I usually lose my jitters within minutes of meeting any surfers we accept in person (the creepers have so far been pretty easy to weed out online). You can also offer to just meet up with people passing through town; sometimes people just want a new friend to show them around. Anyway, just suggesting it as a possible way to both save money AND connect more to your destinations :)