Fortunately, one of the many things the Internet has actually helped to make easier is this process. And in our economy, when we’re likely to take that job offer, no matter where in the country it is, that’s a good thing.

Some apps and sites are city-specific, others are pretty national in scope. Here’s a look at 7 of the most innovative or interesting we’ve come across:

Trulia: It’s a site, it’s an app. And it bills itself as somewhat of a Google for the real estate on the web (my words, not theirs). A “real estate search engine,” you can search anywhere in the U.S. for housing to buy or rent (rental search is relatively new to the site), check out the crime maps to make sure you’re not moving into a neighborhood rife with b&e, or check out the heat maps to see where housing is most–or least–expensive. There are tools for agents/brokers/Realtors as well, and it has a mobile (iPhone and iPad) app that lays out all the most popular features of the site in an optimized format.

Homethinking: This is for home buying, not renting, but it’s a pretty good site that reviews real estate agents and brokers. It has customer reviews, their sales history, If you’re looking to move to North Dakota, though, you’re out of luck, as that’s the only one of the 50 states not on their search list. Washington, D.C., however, is. You can also research mortgage lenders and compare neighborhoods.

BrickUnderground: This one’s a bit different, as it focuses exclusively on the New York City market. But that’s a pretty unique market, as it’s extremely heavy on the rentals and has a daunting system of brokers that often seems the only way to find something halfway decent. That is, of course, only if you find a good broker. That’s where BrickUnderground comes in, with its Renter Referral program, which is a matchmaker of sorts between would-be tenant and broker. Add to that solid articles about New York City apartment living and survival kits, and you’ve got a solid new contender in the space.

BidRent: There are so many sites you can go to find rentals on that it can become overwhelming. Making it worse, Apartments.com, Rent.com, Craigslist, Move and the others have some different rentals and some the same. Plowing through each to find what you’re looking for can be a huge timesuck. RentCompare pulls from more than a dozen rental sites to compare them all. It’s from the same people who created SearchBoth.com, which allows you to compare search results from two search engines at the same time, side-by-side. The only real downside is that you have to set up a free account to use the comparison tool.