hey all, im new to the forum. i'm planning on moving to rabat, morocco to learn some arabic and explore morocco. what is the general consensus on the safety here, scams, things to watch out for, general quality of life, etc? any thoughts would be much appreciated.
thanks!
In my limited experience, I found that many are experts at parting you from your money no matter how much you prepare ... and you may even thank them for the 'privilege', they are that good.
I also found that they are lovely people.
haha, ok, i'll be prepared
thanks!
You can get a quite western feel in some of the cities to the north i.e if you'd ever want to date a Moroccan girl you'd have a chance there.
More relaxed would Essoueira to the south.
I know LOTS of people who go to Rabat and love it, plus most university abroad programs go there so it can't be too unsafe.
Rabat's cool. Waaaay better than her bigger sister, Casa. But dude, its pretty much a standard for most of the country - you will be hassled now and then. That said, there are quite a few people with a lot of time on their hands who have some pretty nifty ways of scamming you out of your money. Don't be overly vigilant, though. Just cautious. No one's out to kill you. Unless you ask for it.
The urban aspect of morocco is really quite tolerable. The average person seems to know a few words in English at the very very least (knowing French will make things easier during the early stages of your stay). Food is awesome. Prices are relatively better than in Europe. People are mostly really friendly and warm, but there are the occasional assholes-for-no-reason (tell me a place that doesn't).
If you're off to actually study Arabic there, I assume you'll be studying Fus'ha (classical Arabic). On the other hand, the Moroccan dialect of Arabic is strange, man. Its like Arabic with Berber and French. Definitely far from the Khaliji Arabic I'm used to back in Dubai.
I think you'll love it.