Image by flickr user william.wardImage by 119084113_3091dcaef3_b.jpg You might not be able to afford the Calhoun Mansion, but there are still some great places to live in Charleston. Here are some services that can help you in your search.

So you're looking for the perfect place to call home? Charleston has a wide array of resources for apartment and house listings, whether you want to live by yourself or with roommates, downtown or in the 'burbs. And here's where you can find them.

The start off, check out Craigslist, which probably has the widest selection of housing options. You can choose from apartments/houses, people looking for roommates, sublets, housing swaps, or vacation rentals, or you can even post your own housing wanted ad, so that people who are looking for a roommate can find you. One thing we've noticed about Craigslist, though, is that rent amounts can be a little steeper than other listing services.

We also highly recommend the College of Charleston off-campus housing listings. The site is run by the college's Office of Residence Life and Housing and lets you browse several categories: available properties, have apartment/need roommate, need apartment/need roommate, and available sublets. There is also a list of various real estate agents and property managers who list through the site, so that you can check them out before you call. This site is probably the best way to look for places to rent downtown, although it also contains many places that are off the peninsula. The listings are updated once a day on weekdays when school is in session.

A third option for housing listings is the Charleston.net real estate classifieds, which lets you search various neighborhoods, housing options, and price ranges for rental properties. Just remember to click the 'Rentals' tab in the search display. The search results can be difficult to go through, because no dates are displayed, but there are definitely some hidden gems to be found in these listings.

Charleston City Paper offers a pretty good selection of categories and so on, so give them a look as well, although be aware that their search listings blend rentals and sales, so you'll have to make sure that you're looking at the rental categories unless you're interested in buying a place.

There are also several real estate agents in Charleston that provide rental listings:

• Bennett Properties: Includes a roommate-matching service for its properties.
• Lane and Smythe: On the upscale end of rental properties.
• Historic Charleston Properties: Another selection of upscale rentals, both downtown and off the peninsula.
• Charleston Real Estate Guide: MLS listings run by Carolina One Real Estate. It's a powerful search tool, and comes up with a wide array of listings around town.