Something I always did before I owned a house and lived in apartments was... To buy a VHF High, UHF, 700-800 ground plane that has 15 inch elements. I would mount it on a broom handle and then use 25 ft of low loss coax. This enables you to move around with the antenna, turning it and tilting it. You could even put it on your outside porch running the coax into the house.
If you find that sweet spot that performs the way you want you can permanently leave it there by leaning it on something or even taping it to something like a floor lamp or hat rack.
This might sound silly to you but it works as you said it, its location and positioning. What works here may not work there Etc.
I've done it many times in different applications and it always works well.
