Moving to Morocco Cost of Living.

Hi everyone,

We are moving to Marrakech in the next couple of months. Few things we wanted to check on before we make the move and generally what the cost of living is in Marrakech.

1, What's the Average salary in Morocco? (will 65,000 DH be enough per month)
2, Cost of accommodation? (Max budget 20.000 DH per month)
3, Education?
4, Transport? (better to buy or long term rental)

Please feel to share any other important points which will help me once i arrive in Marrakech.

Hello

65000dh is over £5000. Have you been to Morrocco before! The majority of the population live on less for the year. 20000dh should just stretch to a 5 bedroom vila with swimming pool and staff I would have thought. Education - I think the lowest price for private education would be around 1000dh a month and going up to around 12000dh a month for a British/ American school. Going on your budget for living, accommodation and schooling I would rent a car depending on how long you will live in Morrocco for. I was thinking on the hassles of selling a car and the tax depreciation. Also make sure you register any money you take in with customs if you want to take it back out the country with out problems

Hi,

Thanks for the info i understand most of the population live on less i have visited morocco on number of occasion but i never really paid attention to the cost of living as a tourist you're there just to enjoy and relax. I am been transferred from my job in Qatar to Morocco and will be traveling back and forth to Doha

Regarding the education side we are currently only looking for a nursery place or day care.

Living accommodation we are looking for just a 3 bedroom apartment but in a nice secure location. Compound would be perfect with amenities on site such as pool and gym and play area for kids.

What's the limit on maximum amount of cash which can be brought and taken out of Morocco. I would be more comfortable using online banking and transferring money online as to avoid these kinds of problems of customs.

With your rental budget it might be worth considering buying a property. For renting I would suggest in the guliez area as it's near all the shops and places to eat and I'm sure you could find a nice place with a swimming pool, gym and secure parking. I will come back to you later if I can find any more information. You should open a Moroccan non resident bank account in Doha and then you can transfer easily. You might need it to pay electric bills etc. Are you applying for residency? The only problem with bringing money in either in cash or into a Moroccan bank is you can't export it back, unless you get the paper work

I think with that salary you could be very comfortable in Morocco, still Marrakesh is more expensive than other cities in Morocco.  20,000 DH as salary in Morocco is already good compared to other salaries. As for accommodation it's important to choose a good neighborhood and with your budget  I don't think you'll have hard time finding a good apartment , you could also think about renting a villa or maybe just a floor of a villa.

As for transport I think long term rental will cost you too much money but then again you'll have to compare prices, buying a car isn't very cheap in Morocco compared to other countries. And it depends on the duration of your contract too.

As for education I don't think you will have a problem finding a good nursery in Marrakech. But I don't know any specific schools there, maybe someone who has kids living in Marrakech could advise you on the matter.

Good luck

How are you getting on with finding a property to rent? There is a web site cityredmorocco dot com that has some properties that might suit. Guliez has some nice apartments and is where a lot of the shops and restaurants are.

Did you know you can only stay in Morrocco for three months if not a resident? It's not a big deal getting residency, just need £3000 in a bank there, somewhere to live and as you have a job there that will be fine. Otherwise you have to go to Gibraltar for a day trip or the like every three months.

If I was moving I would need to open a non resident deposit account with a Moroccan bank, then later you can open a normal bank account in Morrocco if you get residency. I was trying to find a Moroccan bank that doesn't do ribba but I haven't found one yet

Thank you everyone for all the information. Its been great to receive some helpful tips.