Canadian Living in Agadir, Morocco

[casper]

hi i just found this website
i am married to a morocccan man, and we are considering moving to morocco one day. i want to know what your experiences are.
we visited last year for 6 weeks and i fell in love with morocco. i did experience some culture shock, but i got over it. we visited fes a few times, he has family there. i love fes. i love the madina, i love the centre ville. i would love to hear from you and if you can tell me what your daily life is like as a north american living in morocco.
thanks

[palash]

Hello Everyone:

I am a Canadian currently living in the US. I have accepted an expat position in Rabat and will be moving there with my family in August. We are all very excited. It would be great to meet fellow Canadians and Americans in Morocco.

I look forward to hearing from you. Some of the postings on this thread are a bit old and whether all the people who posted are still in Morocco.

I did find an interesting piece of information that there are 1000 Canadians living in Morocco.

Best,

Palash

[Housewife Living Abroad]

Hello Palash

Congratulations! I hope your move is successful and you settle into your new life here comfortably without too many problems or hassles. Rabat can be crazy but the good news is there are tons of foreigners and I find when I go up there that it's easier to blend in. I live in Agadir which is in the South of Morocco and sometimes I stick out like a sore thumb. We get tons of tourists each year but they don't exactly hang out where I live with my husband.

I'm interested in what you'll be doing here and for how long you might be living here? Hopefully you'll be able to find a lot of Canadians and Americans up there to socialize with. What will your wife be doing here and where will your children be going to school? Sorry if I'm being nosey but I know a lot of ppl that would love to move here and they have children but they are unsure of where they should go to school. Also do you know any French or Arabic?

Anyway it's always nice to hear of fellow Canadians that are moving and or already living here.

Take care.

[palash]

Hi!

Thanks for your email.

The Ministry of Industry is creating a very large technology park in Sale called the Technopolis. My company has been asked to found a factory and also a research center there in cooperation with the Al Akhawayn Univeristy. I am being sent to Morocco to lead the establishment of the research center.

My kids are 4 years old and 1 year old. There are a number of American Schools in Morocco and we will be sending her to the Rabat American School (there is also one in Casablanca and I think one in Fez).

My wife does work and we are planning on applying for a work permit so that she can work remotely. However, our current thinking is that moving to Morocco will be challenging enough and it might be better if she not work so that she can help with the adjustment and establish our social network.

Best,

Palash

[Housewife Living Abroad]

Hello again Palash,

In case you haven't noticed I'm prompt when sending replies and so are you actually!

It's good to know there are new developments happening here in Morocco. Your job sounds very interesting so you will have to tell me more about it when you actually get here.

We have an American school here in Agadir and it is very good. Costly but your daughter will get a good education and everything is in English. Although, your daughter is young enough that she could adjust and benefit from going to a private school. I think she would be able to pick up French and Arabic very easily and there's a lot of good private schools in Rabat. Unless of course you are worried about moving back to Canada or the US and her education level isn't the same. But, if you decide to put her in a private school a lot of school administrators and teachers speak English.

As for your wife it might be a good idea for her to not work at least for a little while. I know when I moved here it took me a while to wrap my head around things. Taking a taxi was scary becuase I didn't know at first how to give directions. I only said the area I lived in. I had no idea what to buy at the grocery store. Of course I know how to shop but the brands from back home are not the same here and some things are hard to find or you can't find them at all. I had to learn prices, names of ordinary food items like milk if I had to go to the little shops that are all over the place instead of the bigger supermarkets. Buying food in the souk and butcher and getting around and learning to deal with ppl. Everything I had to learn and for the most part I learned by myself or with my husbands help. So when you move here if your wife is at home even though I live in a different city I'm more than willing to help her. I can even give her my phone number and email address and she can call me me anytime or email me anytime and hopefully it won't take long for you two to make some friends up in Rabat.

Anyway have to get going but take care. Keep me updated and feel free to ask more questions.

[immortalthetis]

hello all!

I will be travelling to Morocco in October and would like to have some contact with someone from canada there since I am going alone for the first time. I will be visiting the city of Kenitra. It is making me a little nervous, and it would be great if i can talk to someone there from canada in case i feel lost!

Has anyone been to Kenitra before?

Best regards
Geeta!

[tachour]

I am Canadian and have been married to the love of my life, a Moroccan man, for 5 years now.We live in Canada but I want to return to Morocco to live.If only I can find a job there I'd be gone in a heartbeat.We have a home near Ifrane so I want to stay around that area

[tachour]

I want to return to Morocco,I want to stay there,live there,work there. Does anybody have any suggestions how I can make my dream become reality?