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I have suggested in another thread, you could worse than contact Maureen Edes at

Maureen does rentals as well as sales.

Thank you

You say 'feel for the place'  ~ but 'The Algarve'  has different 'feels' depending on whether you plump for East or West and coastal ( ? walking distance from the sea ? ) or inland.

If you are already in Estoril it is just a three hour train journey to Faro.

I do not claim to know the whole of the Algarve well and maybe  few people know ALL of it well enough to be able to compare and contrast.

There is an element of serendipity whatever you do.    My suggestion would be read a decent guidebook or two and make a first decision as to whether you prefer East or West.  Then head for one of the towns and get a week's  B&B in a pleasant, mid range, pensão  or hotel.   Then once based in the area  you can visit Estate Agencies  in person, look in the windows, and discuss your requirements  / preferences.   You really want a short  term tenancy which includes utilities, I would suggest.   For that  think minimum Euros 500 per cal month for a small apartment.

If you have absolutely NO idea as to which part of the Algarve to plump for [ in which case what for you is the attraction of The Algarve ? ] you could do a lot worse than spend a week  based in Olhão  ( short train ride from Faro )  and explore the area from there.  An initial exploration to various other towns can be done using the coastal railway.   If you want to explore inland you would have to hire a car.

If you plump for Olhão  you could do a lot worse than stay initially in the Pensão Bicuar  ~ central, reasonably priced, and the owners are English speaking and may be able to make suggestions for accommodation Agencies  and so on.

Other members of the Forum may have other specific suggestions.   But really you need to provide a lot more detail as to what you are looking to achieve with a move to the Algarve  ~ seaside ?   peace and quiet ?  bustling night life ?  rural bliss ?

Hi, thank you for your suggestion.  I have been down to the Algarve numerous times and enjoyed both East and West and preference is Central and East.  However as these have purely been for holiday purposes it does not really give you the feel of "living" in the place/area doing normal day to day things.  As I am on the lookout for property to purchase (income generating) and have a budget, I did not want to pay exorbitant prices for a month or two whilst looking at properties.  Once again thank you