Living
Best Cities in Morocco for Retirees: Where to Settle
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Photo by Mario Beducci on Unsplash
| Widest healthcare choice | Casablanca and Rabat, with the most private clinics and specialists |
|---|---|
| Mildest year-round climate | The Atlantic coast, Agadir especially |
| Easiest social start | Cities with a large, visible international community, such as Marrakech |
| Lower rents | Generally smaller cities; compare real listings, not averages |
| Before you choose | Spend a few weeks in each shortlisted city, ideally in summer too |
There is no single best city in Morocco to retire to. There is the best one for you, and it depends mostly on five things:
- Healthcare. How close you want to be to a wide choice of specialists and private clinics. This matters more with every year, and it favours the largest cities.
- Climate. How you cope with heat, wind and winter damp. The Atlantic coast is milder; inland cities are hotter in summer and colder in winter.
- Social life. Whether you want a large international community to plug into, or would rather build a life among Moroccan neighbours.
- Cost. Mainly rent, which is generally lower in smaller cities, but depends far more on the district and the flat than averages suggest.
- Getting home. How easy it is to fly to your home country from the nearest airport, all year round. Routes change by season, so check the winter schedule too.
Rank those for yourself, shortlist two cities, and spend a few weeks in each before committing. The retirement guide covers residence, health cover and your pension, which come first wherever you live.
Casablanca: for healthcare and practicality
Casablanca is Morocco’s largest city and its business capital. It is not the romantic choice, but it has the widest choice of private clinics and specialists and the most of everything else, from supermarkets to international flights. For retirees with an ongoing health condition, that can outweigh atmosphere. The trade-offs are traffic, noise and higher rents in the central districts.
Rabat: calm and well organised
Rabat, the capital, suits retirees who want a calmer pace with good infrastructure. It has a tramway, a manageable medina, Atlantic seafront and a wide choice of clinics. Embassies and international organisations mean a sizeable foreign community. Our Rabat guide looks at daily life there in detail.
Marrakech: the social choice
Marrakech has a large and visible international community, which makes it one of the easier places to build a social life quickly: clubs, classes, golf and a steady stream of visitors. Gueliz and Hivernage are the modern districts; the medina offers riad living with the practical difficulties that come with it. The Atlas Mountains are within easy reach for day trips. The trade-offs are intense summer heat and a city geared to tourism. There are private clinics for most everyday and specialist care, though for some complex treatment you may be referred to Casablanca or Rabat.
Agadir: the climate choice
Agadir has one of the mildest climates in the country, a long beach, golf nearby and international flights. The city was rebuilt as a modern one after the 1960 earthquake, so it feels more resort than historic city. It is the main city of the Souss, where many people speak Tachelhit, an Amazigh language, alongside Darija and French. Healthcare is less comprehensive than in Casablanca or Rabat.
Essaouira: small-town charm
Essaouira suits retirees who want a small, walkable Atlantic town with an arts scene and a long-established international community. It is famously windy, which some love and some cannot live with. The main trade-off is healthcare: the choice of specialists is much narrower than in the big cities, and for some treatment you would travel to Marrakech or further. Think carefully about that if you have, or may develop, a condition that needs regular specialist care.
Fes: cultural immersion
Fes suits retirees who want to live somewhere deeply traditional and are happy to work at it. Its medina is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The international community is smaller, so some French or Darija makes a real difference, and the old medina, with steep lanes largely closed to traffic, is hard going with limited mobility; the new town (ville nouvelle) is the easier place to live day to day. Summers are hot and winters can be cold.
Testing your shortlist
When you visit, live as you would if you moved: rent a flat rather than a hotel, shop for food, find the nearest clinic and pharmacy, and try the journey to the airport. Talk to foreign residents who have been there a few years, not just a few months. Compare rents in the districts you would actually choose, using the cost of living calculator as a starting point, and read the guide to making friends as a retiree for how people build a social life in each city.
Practical Tips
- Visit your two favourite cities for at least two weeks each, living as you would, before deciding. A holiday impression and a Tuesday in February are different things.
- If you have a condition that needs specialist follow-up, check that the specialty is available within reasonable reach before you choose a smaller town.
- Decide how your pension will arrive before you open accounts. Convertible dirhams keep money easier to move out; a permanent transfer in non-convertible dirhams is what the main tax relief requires. See the pension transfers guide.
- Check whether your country offers a registration or alert service for citizens abroad, and sign up if it does.
- Rent furnished for the first six months. It lets you learn the city before committing to a lease, or to buying.
Related Guides
Accuracy note: Rents, healthcare provision, flight routes and communities change. This article compares cities in general terms only. Visit, and check current listings and services for yourself, before deciding where to live.