It is well known that with each year that God makes, Morocco affirms a little more its vocation of El Dorado for foreign retirees and more particularly for those from France. The French were not mistaken and more than a million retirees of all nationalities crossed the Rubicon without Cisalpine Gaul finding fault with it.
That’s whatsettling down means not only enjoying your retirement in a beautiful country, but also gaining purchasing power. Make no mistake about it, these are above allnon-negligible savings because even with the rise in prices on the spot, their purchasing power is much higher than that which they have in France.
In yet another report on the issue, France 2 took an interest in the enthusiasm forthese rFrench people who decided to make Morocco their full-time residence. This time it is to El Jadida that they went channel reporters. “Here, in El-Jadida, it’s the pleasure of living. You have plenty of stuff here, you have the beach, you have the fishing”told them Paul Brot, a French retiree.
In other convincing arguments of the coastal city, its fortified city which alone is worth the detour. Paul Brot and his wife have improvised themselves as guides for friends, Germain Ménard and his wife, who have come to visit them for a few days who do not hide their desire to come and put their suitcases there. It goes without saying that compared to France, Morocco’s economic attractiveness is a major asset for expatriates.
In short, the Kingdom’s arguments are irresistible. “The sun, the beach, girlfriends, the relationships we make, everything. You have to remember that in winter when you buy warm clothes in France, it costs more than shorts and t-shirts here. Flip-flops are cheaper than a pair of lined boots”, confided Marie-Claude Breton last November to France 2 during a previous report in Agadir this one.
And to tell that between the heating, the expenses of the house, it was at the very least, 170 euros in savings per month. And that’s just for housing. Added to this are the savings on food, catering… The only downside at the time was the price of fuel, which reached more than one euro fifty per litre. But that was before! Today, along the way, he relieved himself of half a euro.
Visitors and friends of the Brot couple understood this as soon as they arrived. In the vegetable markets of El Jadida on the stalls, fresh products are present in abundance and “at bargain prices”. “A kilo of tomatoes here is 50 cents, in France it’s 4-5 euros and the tomatoes are from here they are not imported ” explains Germain.
The difference in purchasing power is even more obvious when it comes to buying real estate the Brot couple have offered themselves a haven of peace in this luxury residence 700 meters from the ocean. Caretaker, day and night, gardener, cleaning lady… an accessible luxury for 103,000 euros (the price of their apartment with a garden is much lower than that exercised by the sea in France).
Laurent Guinard, a real estate agent working in El Jadida, has made supporting retirees his business. He says he has helped more than 1,000 couples in their efforts. Some of his clients sometimes treat themselves to the life of a squire, like this one, a former executive, who arrived more than 20 years ago and who is now looking to sell his 800 m² ryad, completely renovated and ideally located on the edge and with a view of the “Oum Errabia” wadi at its mouth and whose sale price is estimated between 400,000 and 600,000 euros. For Guinard, the Europeans who will fall in love with the charm of this property will have the profile of young retirees, just to have an activity and additional potential income.
Still embryonic at the end of the last century, this phenomenon of voluntary exile took on the appearance of a strong push in the 21st century. French retirees are already more than 60,000 to have crossed the Mediterranean. They are mainly established in Marrakech, and other cities on the Atlantic coast such as Agadir, Essaouira, El Jadida…