We may be moving to Casablanca from the USA with children

Hi there!
I'd like to start off by saying that any city has its pros and cons. In the case of casablanca there are extremely filthy places and also extremely clean and well kept neighborhoods, Ain Diad is an upper middle class area close to the beach. As for medical issues, it's a no brainer, if you go to a private clinic you'll get exceptional service and if you go to a public hospital expect to be disapointed. If you are concerned about the water, buy mineral water its very cheap.(i've lived in Casablanca for 13 yrs and never had any problems with tap water)

Speaking Hebrew could actually land you a very good job at one of the local jewish schools or center where you could meet a lot of people. Also sports clubs are a great way to make friends, they are quite different than those in the US. (kids enjoy themselves and moms socialize at the clubs garden, cafe or restaurant...

I really hope that you will enjoy your time in Morocco!

PS: if you don't mind me asking... What company does your husband for for?

Hello

My husband and I are also looking at moving to Casablanca.  We home educate our two children, so although schools are not an issue, friends are.  Does anyone know of any other home educators?  Any suggestions for how to find a place to live before moving there?

Hello,
I am a teacher but do not home school my kids.  If we end up in Casablanca, we plan to send them to CAS school in Californie.  My husband and I were in Casablanca for 2 weeks and I too worry about the friendship thing.  Most of the expats from his company are either empty nesters or they have no children. Only one couple has 2 kids and they are babies (under 3 years).  The other concern I had was that nearly all the other expats that I had encountered (not from my husband's company) spoke French -- I speak English.  So, I am very worried about isolation for my family.  We have always been the house with the get togethers -- all our friends and their children and I am not sure that we would find this in Casablanca (but perhaps I am wrong).  Have you been to Casablanca to check out the area at all?  I was so surprised to find out that there are no parks (like with play equipment)in the city and it is very difficult (I never saw it either) to have your children ride their bikes and such in the neighborhood.  Aside from the insane driving nobody plays outside like this -- it was a bit odd for me.
None the less, if we end up in Casablanca, we will make the best out of it. 
Good luck to you
missy

hello Missy
i know exactly what are you talking about.
well as a Moroccan i guess i can give you some answers.
Medical care is not poor at all ,except for the public hospital
but none takes his children there anyway.

The Water is 100% pure
when i was in Korea i used to buy 1 bottle of water per 2 days because of the filthy Asian water, but Moroccan water no way.

Well about isolation ...
as you said earlier, they are going to give you a house in Ain diab right ? there is a park there for children called Sindbad

and there is a few americans, canadians, Jewish .. living there.
also you can find americans in California (a residence)
otherwise if you re looking forward to make Moroccan friends,
you should start learning some french you know ..

well good luck ma'am
and feel free to ask whatever you want
so long

Thank you for your response!  Ain Diab will sadly not work for our family because the children will be attending CAS school and it is located in Californie.  Since I am not very happy about the driving situation in Morocco I plan to live close to the school and this way the children will not have to have a long commute home at the end of the day.  So, we will be looking to live in the Californie area. 

With regard to the water, I believe that our bodies will have to grow accostome to  it -- the water is much different than what we are used to and I would not wish to take the chance of getting sick.  (As it happens, I was very ill for most of my 2nd week in Casablanca -- I believe it was from some water I may have had to drink). 

I am now trying to find out the price of the private clubs which are in the Californie area.  I was told these have playgrounds and such for my children. My biggest worry is for my children -- they are used to our life here.  They return from school and play outside in my neighborhood -- they ride their bikes and scooters with friends around our neighborhood blocks and we walk to the park and they play on the equipment while we parents sit and talk on a bench while we supervise our children.  I found none of this while I was in Casablanca.  Perhaps I was looking in the wrong places but it made me a bit sad that there were not parks with swings, and slides and climbing equipment and there were no children outside riding bicycles, scooters, roller skating etc.... everything seemed to be contained behind the villa walls or I guess at private facilities that I do not yet know about. 
Obviously I will need to learn french and I welcome this.  I already speak a second language and I embrace the idea of learning a third language.  However, it will certainly take me some time to master it enough to sit and have a friendly conversation with a friend in only french! 
Of course I wish to meet people that can speak english and it doesn't matter to me what nationality they are, so long as we can have a nice conversation and share some commonalities.  I find that many times children are the link to my friendships.  Just as well, I would hope to meet people that are similar to me -- Americans, Candaians etc... that can understand the culture shock and the beauty of moving and living in a much differant country than where we have come from.  I would love to find some Jewish friends too - however, I am not orthodox and so the temples in Casablanca and Morocco are much differant than what I am used too.  I hope to find some english or hebrew speaking jewish people to be around for my holidays. 

So, now you know my worries and my wishes (haha).  I would love to hear back with any more information you can give me.  As we contemplate accepting this move to Morocco.
Missy

yes i got it ^^
well you know i had a Jew friend, he was soo uncomfortable about the idea that he will end up here.
when i met him , he had no idea whats going on.
and someone just gave him wrong rumors like they gonna steal you,
there is no police nobody cares and stuffs that made him scared as hell.

but now everything is alright, he is doing fine, still living here.

i know i sound like a tourism worker or something.
but i know whats going on.
and i am sure you re gonna like it here

and about relations with people m you wont have any problem,
because when the neighborhood will notice your presence. all the jews and Americans are going to bother you dor sure.

do you have any idea about California ?
because there are a lot of children there skating riding bikes and stuffs

it's true there is no swings here haha kinda weird i know
i was always wondering why they took all the swings off ...

thats why you should try the amusement parks like Yasmina, Sindbad,

well im sorry for the late reply by the way.
and yes as i said if something makes you worried about your trip. im here

because when i was working in korea, i had some american friends from portland,Oregon they were teaching ... i think they are still teaching there. and seriously they were the best!!

(just had to write this haha)

you can also type Sindbad casablanca (its an amusement park located in ain diab)

and another one called Yasmina in town center

so as i said you can search on the web . i believe there are some english articles like this one asiarooms.com/travel-guide/morocco/casbalanca/casablanca-amusement-parks/sinbad-amusement-park-casablanca.html

Thanks for the information. I am not afraid to be in Morocco and be Jewish -- I have actually heard very good things about the  relationship between the muslims and the jews in Morocco and I am not worried but welcome the idea of learning about a totally new culture that is Jewish (because the Sephardic Jews from Morocco have different customs and worship than I have -- I am considered Ashkenazi Jewish). 

When we were in Casablance I saw the park in Ain Diab and it was closed, but thought it looked interesting.  I really am interested to find out more about the private clubs that everyone talks about -- where are they and what is the price etc....

We looked in the Quartier of Californie and I didn't see any children on skates or bicycles but perhaps it was because I visited this are during school day (kids in school) and on the weekend (kids with families).  I liked this area it seemed very nice, but the shopping seemed a bit limited to the Marjane.  It certainly didn't have the atmosphere or the quaintness of CIL area or the beauty of the cost like in Ain Diab.

I was also told of an american neighborhood -- all americans or many americans but the name escapes me. I think it was similar to Bar Drousse or Dar Barousse.  Do you know what I am refering to??

I think if I can get all this stuff sorted out prior to actually arriving to Casablanca with my children I will feel more comfortable. 

Thanks again for the information and for the link.

hi, as a strange in morocco, and as a professional, what i can do for you, is to aske what kind of life (housing, clubing, sport) do you want to have in morocco. The best way to succes full in integration is to leave near people who look like you!
And this is my job. to resolve your housing subject.

xxx