Where to live?

Hi please don't be put off by what people write on these post we live on the algarve & honestly cannot see us living anywhere else, house prices depends on what you want & what your budget is, we currently live about a 7min drive from Olhao its a fishing town with plenty of bars restaurants (when open COVID related) & other amenities, it has schools but cannot tell you if they are English speaking international schools as we do not have children over here, there is a beach close by, we are n the process of having to put our house on the market as unfortunately it will not be feasible for us to live in it as I will need a single story house due to the fact that I will be in a wheelchair very soon, it is with a heavy heart that we are selling it but we are staying in the Olhao area as we love it here it is peaceful here. Good luck with your search

Thank you for the reply Jean,

Firstly, I'm sorry to hear about your condition.

Our plan is to save up to buy in a couple of years, but initially we just want to move there, rent to find somewhere ideal to live the rest of our days. We value outdoor space and privacy above all else. My children want a pool, but that does seem to put the price up a lot. Our holidays in the past have always had a pool, so obviously they are thinking it will be like being on holiday all of the time.

My wife and I are interested in the culture, the markets, the language, history and heritage. My wife is an aspiring illustrator, and we both have a love of art.

In the UK we are renting at a cost of equivalent of about 1200 euros, but I think we could stretch a little more. Everywhere we like to look of is over 2000 euros unfortunately, and with the cost of schools, that would be the very top end of our budget.

Our ideal place would be a few miles from a town, with no neighbours, and space for an asado and for the dog to run around with the children, and maybe a pool.

Would you recommend the Algarve for raising a young family?

I would strongly suggest taking two weeks holiday, making a few choices and then drive around the area rather than asking others.
That's how I chose.  I still rent
We are all different.
One man's meat and all that.
If you need international school , for example, that severely contains your options.
Yes, Algarve is one of the most expensive areas. Near the beach even more so.
It is also warmer.
Even in Algarve it can be cold for months in end.

I too would also recommend going there for a couple of weeks and taking a good look around some areas. It could also be a good idea to go there to an estate agency which locals use rather than those made for expats as you may find the prices are a bit different.
You maybe be best off going slightly further in land where the prices may be a bit lower. You'll also more likely get somewhere with more outside space and privacy that you're after!
You could try areas around Loulé, Messines, Alte, Silves etc. They're around 20-30ish minutes from the coast but still quite near to local towns.
I too will be relocating to the Algarve in the next couple of years as my partner is Portuguese and lives there. These are some of the places we have looked around as we would also like the outdoor space and privacy.
There is a channel on YouTube which is great. The guy is an expat in the Algarve and he makes videos of local areas and he pros and cons of living in the areas.
I'll add a link in another comment.
Good luck with your search!

https://youtube.com/c/AlgarveAddicts

We fell in love with the eastern algarve when like most we came out here on holiday we always wanted to move to the algarve then it just happened, yes it can be cold in the winter months but nowhere near as cold as the uk gets, when allowed to travel yes I would say do it as a holiday & go around looking at what the different towns & villages have  to offer, we chose where we are because it it less touristy we have neighbours but we rarely see or hear them but if we need them they are there which given the illness that I have it is a godsend that they are there as I fell down the stairs a couple of weeks ago my husband was down by the pool he came rushing & also our neighbours did if we had been totally secluded I don't know what we would have done, we always thought we wanted total seclusion but not so sure now.

zsheffield wrote:

You could try areas around Loulé, Messines, Alte, Silves etc. They're around 20-30ish minutes from the coast but still quite near to local towns.

Yes we have visited the Algarve a number of times and Loulé is pretty much the area we are most keen on (in the Algarve area). Plus it is near a number of good international schools.

zsheffield wrote:

https://youtube.com/c/AlgarveAddicts

Thanks, yes I subscribe to that, great channel. Another is OK Portugal.

Thanks for the replies everyone.

I like the idea of visiting before moving, however that has a number of implications to us, financial and logistical. Also, we just want to get over there ASAP.

I think we will just pick somewhere near a good school, and once there we will explore and take things from there.

Thanks again!