Morocco sits a 3-hour ferry from Spain and gives US dollar earners enormous buying power, year-round sunshine, and a culture that has hosted Western expats and military retirees since the 1960s. The trade-off is paperwork in French or Arabic and limited healthcare outside the major cities.
Single-adult planning estimates in USD: lean $1100, comfortable $1800, premium $2900. Costs vary by city and circumstances. Obtain current rental and insurance quotes.
90-day visa-free entry for US citizens. Long-stay 'Carte de Séjour' residency requires proof of stable income (~$1,000-$1,500/mo, varies by préfecture), local lease, and a sponsor or French-translated VA award letter. Renewable annually; permanent residency after 4 years.
Private hospitals in Casablanca and Rabat (Clinique Internationale, Polyclinique Atlas) are good. Outside the big cities, healthcare is thin. Most expats keep an evacuation policy to Spain or France.
No VA hospitals in Morocco. Foreign Medical Program reimburses service-connected care. The realistic plan: Polyclinique Atlas in Marrakech or Clinique Internationale in Casablanca for routine care; ferry to Algeciras (Spain) for anything complex; fly to a US VA for major service-connected surgery.
Major tourist and expat cities (Marrakech, Essaouira, Tangier, Rabat) are safe with normal precautions. Petty theft and aggressive vendors in medinas are the main concern. Violent crime is rare. Atlas mountains, Atlantic surf coast, Sahara desert, walkable medinas. Strong French expat infrastructure. Alcohol is legal but discreet; Ramadan reshapes daily life for a month each year.
Lower-income veterans wanting genuine value, sunshine, and proximity to Europe, who can tolerate French/Arabic bureaucracy and limited rural healthcare.