Casablanca or Marrakesh? ...

Hello,

My name is Catherine. I went to Marrakech last week and I've always wanted to do something for a third world country as you can tell my spell and punctuation isn't that great so I can't teach, but I'm hoping to open a soup kitchen type thing and in time a shelter so that's they work as a team to run. Not 100% on the laws on making money out there but when I was there all I did was buy the kids and give the homeless juice and food.

It's not you have to be aware of them you just have to understand that they will get out of you what they can cause they don't have a choice. They have nothing and generally if the man dies then the woman is homeless with no money nothing cause he alway looked after. there are a couple that really got to me there's was one that has a damaged leg that defiantly needed clean dressing on it! at least  And few young woman that had young children and one old lady who is pretty much screaming to god to save her and the others for the poverty they are in I spoke to these people and cause I spoke to them they wanted nothing from me... It's very sad...  I still gave them food ever day i was there and I will keep going back and doing the same thing till I sort it out. They are very special people that have been let down so even if you don't eat that one bread roll please give it to them. There not horrible they are the most giving welcoming people I have ever met but at the same time you do have to be careful. Be careful of people in cafés and thing like that they will try a rip you off and they are on okay money they are doing it for greed they are the people you have to watch out for... 

But if your feeling lonely or lost the people won't expect anything from you at all and I can message them and then they will meet you.

I think what your doing is very brave and amazing... hopefully one day we will meet in the middle if my project goes well!

Good luck I wish you all the best!!

That is a very informative and nice reply, however, i'm not sure it answers any of the questions I was asking, lol.
I was looking for a comparison of the two cities as what it's like to live in them. Thank you for your nice story though.

Hi alicedaisyspoon,

I don't live in Casa so I can't answer your question, but if you have Facebook I would suggest that you join the group, American and English Speaking Women in Morocco.  Most of the women who post live in Casablanca so they would be able to give you info on the area.  Dar Bouazza is a popular expat neighborhood. 

Hope this helps somewhat! 
Meryem

Out of the 2 cities, I prefer Casablanca. Yes, I know, there are loads more facilities and "sights" in Marrrakech, it's more ancient and "authentic". But, in the end, so much of this is for the tourist and it gets utterly wearisome fending people away who have learned that a foreign face equals victim. There are strategies for doing this, but I guess I don't want to have to be on edge most of the time. I've been coming to Morocco for 45 years and have lived here for 4 years so no one rips me off! But sometimes you just don't want to have to look "confident" as if you know exactly where you are going at every second of the day so that people won't hassle you. Doing what you said in Marrakech is a recipe for disaster, that is, wandering around, clearly not knowing exactly where you are and it clearly being your first time in that area. It is very difficult to take a long, casual walk anywhere in Marrakech!

The hassle factor in Casablanca is a hundredth of what you get in Fez or Marrakech. You truly can just have a wander. OK, there is less, in a picturesque sense, to see. But you have the seashore, the Medina, parks, concerts, culture, recitals, good restaurants. Just one word about the restaurants. They have to cater for repeat business as they can't rely on an endless supply of tourists as the ones in Marrakech do. Therefore they are, in general, better than those in tourist towns - they would soon close if they served rubbish and many have when they have tried this route. The weather is far more clement to a foreigner in Casablanca. Marrakech can go up to 49 degrees in the summer and be very cold in the winter. Casablanca is mild for most of the year. Yes, it gets hot (nothing like the interior), but at least you can get out to the breeze off the sea!

Casablanca is also a hub for trains and buses. You can get to many interesting places easily on the train such as down to El Jadida or Azemmour. Or up to Rabat, Asilah, Tangiers, Mohammedia, Kenitra. Or do a combined train and coach trip to El Jadida and Safi. Marrakech is the end of the train line! If you want to go anywhere, you have to go back through Casablanca, apart from a couple of daily services to Safi and Oued Zem, involving changes and inconvenience.

Have a look at this article. It's a bit old and the projects he mentions have come to or are nearing fruition:--

theguardian.com/travel/2010/may/08/casablanca-morocco-guesthouse

Also have a look at the attractions and restaurants on Trip Advisor for Casablanca, El Jadida, Azemmour and so on. Look at the Marrakech ones too, but you will see that everything there is for the benefit of tourists. Like the author of the Guardian article, I value Casablanca and the coast south of it, where I live, for the lack of foreigners cluttering it up!

I'm sure you are going to get loads of people telling you to go to Marrakech. Just don't!

I am English teacher too contact me for more info

nabilforyou wrote:

I am English teacher too contact me for more info

Why can't you say what you want to say on the thread itself? She wants to know which city might be better for her, Casablanca or Marrakech. Pray tell her. Why would you want her to contact you privately?

Well, well, well, nabilforyou. I just had a look at your posts on this forum and virtually every single one has been moderated. You are offering services to people in the marriage, estate agency and now the teaching fields. You won't give advice on the threads, you insist that people call you or give you their numbers. One of your posts was removed because it was blatant advertising.

Needless to say, to my mind, this is very suspicious behaviour. And needless to say, I am going to advise people not to contact you.

Becausse this person is a scammer, I already got some b.s. offer about a training course when I already specified, i'm already trained. Just time wasters. never Mind.

This is helpful, I have asked to join, but my facebook still says i'm living in Thailand, so I hope they won't decline me. Thank you for this, this is good. x

This is really a brilliant answer and actually answers my question very well indeed, Thank you.
Would like even more info if you could spare it please, what's it like on a day to day basis for foreigners? How will I get by while I'm still learning French etc... Is it true that It's Dirty? etc ...... Thank you!!!!

alicedaisyspoon wrote:

This is really a brilliant answer and actually answers my question very well indeed, Thank you.
Would like even more info if you could spare it please, what's it like on a day to day basis for foreigners? How will I get by while I'm still learning French etc... Is it true that It's Dirty? etc ...... Thank you!!!!

I hope that you were referring to me!

In any case, no, Casablanca's not dirty in particular. You see rubbish, of course, but you see it in most cities. The rubbish gets collected from domestic premises daily and from the streets several times a day. However, it is true to say that it piles up overnight till the first collection happens, but again, this is the same all over.

Day to day life? Transport is easy, especially if you live on or near the new tramway line. Otherwise there are buses, collective "grands taxis" plying defined routes within town and "petits taxis" that can be hailed. There are also the 6 or 7 railway stations that have reasonably frequent trains within the city limits, although not too frequent!

Fresh, good quality fruit and veg can be bought from local markets at very low prices - 20p for a kilo of nice tomatoes, the same for potatoes and seasonal fruit is ridiculously cheap - a huge papaya a foot long can be as little as £1.50. Melons are the same, even cheaper.

There are 3 main chains of supermarkets, Acima, Marjane and Carrefour. I think Carrefour is the best as it has a lot of own brand stuff of good quality from France - cornflakes, biscuits, cat food, tinned stuff, pork products such as salami, chorizo and ham, cheeses. However, although it's cheaper than UK prices for some stuff, other items are far more. I have just had 150 grammes of gravadlax for dinner as a treat. The packet was £6 though. It would be half that in the UK. So I have to ration myself. Fresh fish is cheap if bought in the markets, but not very cheap in the supermarkets.

Eating out can vary from a 10 dirham meal (minced meat sandwich with some salad and/or chips) to 1000 dirhams in a posh French style place with wine. Needless to say, I do the latter maybe twice a year! In between these extremes you can get a meal of a quarter chicken, huge salad, chips and dipping sauce for 20 to 25 dirhams, according to how near the centre you are or a huge plate of varied fried fish with dipping sauce for 25 to 50 dirhams, again according to how near you are eating to the centre. These plates could easily be shared by 2 people. Then there are normal sit down restaurants ranging from Italian, Spanish, French, Indian, Vietnamese, Moroccan, Burger, Senegalese, Lebanese or traditional silver service (such as the Petit Poucet which is the same now as it was when Piaf, Camus and St Exupery ate there - I love it, not too dear) and ranging in price normally according to area. However, area is not always a sure guide - there are some great places that are out from the centre and the swish neighbourhoods.

Bars? Spit and sawdust ones clustered around the CTM Bus Station which Moroccan women don't visit but foreign women are welcome in. And there is a couple of these in every other neighbourhood. Then posher places, such as the Michel Cerdan Brasserie, which I like a great deal.

The sea shore. Loads of snacks, restaurants, bars, discos, clubs, spas, swimming pools, bars. This is where the jeunesse doree of Casa steps out according to the latest trends. But you can still get a cheap, good night out there.

As for the French, yes, that will be a slight problem while you are learning. Many people speak French, not too many English. You'll get by though. Don't worry. This would be the same wherever you are in Morocco.

Please feel free to ask any thing else if you want more details.

es I was referring to you laduqesa, Your posts are perfectly informative, and I feel much relieved, because I've already made my travel arrangements to Casablanca. Great! I feel much relieved, Thank you for that, it's wonderful.
Yay! I'm excited again! Less than 5 weeks till I'm there. Very very exciting! Thank you laduqesa!

laduqesa wrote:

alicedaisyspoon wrote:

This is really a brilliant answer and actually answers my question very well indeed, Thank you.
Would like even more info if you could spare it please, what's it like on a day to day basis for foreigners? How will I get by while I'm still learning French etc... Is it true that It's Dirty? etc ...... Thank you!!!!

I hope that you were referring to me!

In any case, no, Casablanca's not dirty in particular. You see rubbish, of course, but you see it in most cities. The rubbish gets collected from domestic premises daily and from the streets several times a day. However, it is true to say that it piles up overnight till the first collection happens, but again, this is the same all over.

Day to day life? Transport is easy, especially if you live on or near the new tramway line. Otherwise there are buses, collective "grands taxis" plying defined routes within town and "petits taxis" that can be hailed. There are also the 6 or 7 railway stations that have reasonably frequent trains within the city limits, although not too frequent!

Fresh, good quality fruit and veg can be bought from local markets at very low prices - 20p for a kilo of nice tomatoes, the same for potatoes and seasonal fruit is ridiculously cheap - a huge papaya a foot long can be as little as £1.50. Melons are the same, even cheaper.

There are 3 main chains of supermarkets, Acima, Marjane and Carrefour. I think Carrefour is the best as it has a lot of own brand stuff of good quality from France - cornflakes, biscuits, cat food, tinned stuff, pork products such as salami, chorizo and ham, cheeses. However, although it's cheaper than UK prices for some stuff, other items are far more. I have just had 150 grammes of gravadlax for dinner as a treat. The packet was £6 though. It would be half that in the UK. So I have to ration myself. Fresh fish is cheap if bought in the markets, but not very cheap in the supermarkets.

Eating out can vary from a 10 dirham meal (minced meat sandwich with some salad and/or chips) to 1000 dirhams in a posh French style place with wine. Needless to say, I do the latter maybe twice a year! In between these extremes you can get a meal of a quarter chicken, huge salad, chips and dipping sauce for 20 to 25 dirhams, according to how near the centre you are or a huge plate of varied fried fish with dipping sauce for 25 to 50 dirhams, again according to how near you are eating to the centre. These plates could easily be shared by 2 people. Then there are normal sit down restaurants ranging from Italian, Spanish, French, Indian, Vietnamese, Moroccan, Burger, Senegalese, Lebanese or traditional silver service (such as the Petit Poucet which is the same now as it was when Piaf, Camus and St Exupery ate there - I love it, not too dear) and ranging in price normally according to area. However, area is not always a sure guide - there are some great places that are out from the centre and the swish neighbourhoods.

Bars? Spit and sawdust ones clustered around the CTM Bus Station which Moroccan women don't visit but foreign women are welcome in. And there is a couple of these in every other neighbourhood. Then posher places, such as the Michel Cerdan Brasserie, which I like a great deal.

The sea shore. Loads of snacks, restaurants, bars, discos, clubs, spas, swimming pools, bars. This is where the jeunesse doree of Casa steps out according to the latest trends. But you can still get a cheap, good night out there.

As for the French, yes, that will be a slight problem while you are learning. Many people speak French, not too many English. You'll get by though. Don't worry. This would be the same wherever you are in Morocco.

Please feel free to ask any thing else if you want more details.

Oh now I get how to directly reply to a particular post, Haha. Sorry, I'm new to this site. Cheers!

I'm sure you'll like it! Try to hang out around place Nations Unies and/or the wonderful snack restaurants on rue Colbert opposite the central market. If you want posh expat, there's the Gauthier neighbourhood or the top end of boulevard d'Anfa (lots of rich Moroccans!) as well as the area near the Twin Centre.

I don't know your budget for a place to live. Belvedere (especially) or Horloge are a good shot. On the tramway and not far from the centre and you can get reasonable long term lets there both furnished and unfurnished. Try not to rent online. Use physical estate agents - they are cheaper and you can actually see what you are committing to and you can also bargain the price down, which you should try to do.

You're arriving in August, it seems. That can easily be the hottest month so if you have lots of slogging around to get a flat and/or furniture, try to do it in the morning or late afternoon. But remember that it will be up to 15 degrees cooler than Marrakech would have been! There will be some pollution in the early morning and late afternoon rush hours in August (and all summer) as there is generally less wind. However, you can take a trip to the seashore. And to reassure you, it is not on the scale of Peking or Athens even, nowhere near.

Please write back if there are specific queries. Although I don't live in Casa, I'll try to help.

If you are ever in El Jadida, do let me know and I'll buy you a coffee at the very least!

laduqesa wrote:

I'm sure you'll like it! Try to hang out around place Nations Unies and/or the wonderful snack restaurants on rue Colbert opposite the central market. If you want posh expat, there's the Gauthier neighbourhood or the top end of boulevard d'Anfa (lots of rich Moroccans!) as well as the area near the Twin Centre.

I don't know your budget for a place to live. Belvedere (especially) or Horloge are a good shot. On the tramway and not far from the centre and you can get reasonable long term lets there both furnished and unfurnished. Try not to rent online. Use physical estate agents - they are cheaper and you can actually see what you are committing to and you can also bargain the price down, which you should try to do.

You're arriving in August, it seems. That can easily be the hottest month so if you have lots of slogging around to get a flat and/or furniture, try to do it in the morning or late afternoon. But remember that it will be up to 15 degrees cooler than Marrakech would have been! There will be some pollution in the early morning and late afternoon rush hours in August (and all summer) as there is generally less wind. However, you can take a trip to the seashore. And to reassure you, it is not on the scale of Peking or Athens even, nowhere near.

Please write back if there are specific queries. Although I don't live in Casa, I'll try to help.

If you are ever in El Jadida, do let me know and I'll buy you a coffee at the very least!

Thank you for your help!! you've been really really helpful indeed. I'll definitely let you know if I come by, and likewise if you go to Casa, a coffee would be great!!

Hi. I don't know if you are still following this thread, but I have translated from the French and Darija and subtitled the clip of a song called "Bienvenue a Casa" - "Welcome to Casa". It gives a real air of the frantic energy of the city.I hope you like it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=El5N5yrjF8g

hi there. I am a brit working in morocco a week at a time and Im in casblanca. The people are lovely and yes it is a bit grubby, but its the commercial centre . To be honest, once you have seen the mosque and the medina and been to the Morocco mall and the beach.. thats it. its not full historically significant buildings or a beautiful place. its the commercial heart, not cultural.
My french is patchy but improving and people just like you to try.

Guernseygirl1 wrote:

hi there. I am a brit working in morocco a week at a time and Im in casblanca. The people are lovely and yes it is a bit grubby, but its the commercial centre . To be honest, once you have seen the mosque and the medina and been to the Morocco mall and the beach.. thats it. its not full historically significant buildings or a beautiful place. its the commercial heart, not cultural.
My french is patchy but improving and people just like you to try.

And that's the conventional viewpoint, the lazy viewpoint, I'm sorry to say.

It's a big city, but there are wonderful things there. Did you have a look at that article I referenced? It might change your mind.

Have you been to the Petit Poucet? To look at the fabulous old buildings near the Rialto and the Rialto itself? The markets? The posh parts of town? Have you been to the top of the Twin Center? The Senegalese restaurants? The Saudi ones? The British Fish'n'Chip places?

There's a lot more than people give Casablanca credit for. Oh, and one of the only "sights" that most people seem to take in, "Rick's Café", is the only one that should be avoided like the plague.

John your messages are always positive and entertaining. I like you, you're cool. And you put me at ease about casa. I owe you a drink at least. I watched that video you subbed. Good one. I'm looking forward to getting stuck in. I like to scratch below the surface and have an authentic local experience. The places that are the least touristy are often the best places to live if you're willing to look for the good stuff, and think outside the box. Thanks!!!!!