Ouarzazate is a quiet Moroccan city in a mountainous area with fascinating historical and human heritage.
In the past, Ouarzazate played an essential role in the commercial routes between Marrakesh and the coastal cities of Morocco and other parts of Africa. When the French arrived and established a fort, Ouarzazate flourished.
Nowadays it’s the perfect base for a digital nomad with good infrastructures, reasonable prices, a safe and friendly atmosphere, delicious food, welcoming people, and lots to see and do in your free time.
Ouarzazate is a quiet city with about 60,000 people with a very low crime rate, practically nonexistent. In a city like this it’s easy to relax and go back to the simple things in life: a shared meal with the neighbors in a local restaurant, the flavors of local produce, watching the sunset to the magical sound of the calls to prayer.
In addition to all this, while being based in Ouarzazate, you’ll be able to experience life in Morocco, explore the neighboring places and travel the country.
To live in morocco for a month or more is quite easy. Keep reading.
What’s the Best Time to Live in Ouarzazate
Every month has its upside, but the time before and after the summer has the best weather, with lots of sunshine, and mild temperatures. It’s calm in the fall, and the winter, despite the cold, might be a good time of year for a digital nomad because there are fewer distractions and it’s perfect if you have a huge workload or tight deadlines. As for the summer, it’s usually cooler here than other parts of Morocco because, after all, Ouarzazate is 1,150 meters above sea level.
Cost of Living
For convenience, I’m listing the prices in Euros, but keep in mind that currency exchange between Moroccan Dirham MAD and Euro or an extreme economic shift might affect prices.
A meal at an affordable restaurant will cost you a little over 2 Euros, but if you go to a nicer restaurant, it will cost you about 8 Euros.
Buying clothes is affordable if you don’t care about the brands. A pair of Levi’s jeans, a pair of Nike shoes, or clothes at Zara will cost about the same they cost in Europe.
To stay in shape while living in Ouarzazate expect to pay about 16 euros a month for a gym membership.
As for transportation, a local bus ticket costs a little under 0.40 Euros, while taxis charge an initial fare of 0.64 Euros and then 0.46 Euros per kilometer. Well, at least in theory because you might have to negotiate a fixed fare with the taxi driver. But if you know how far your destination is, you’ll have a rough idea how much to negotiate for a fixed fare.
Here’s a list of what you might pay for groceries at a local supermarket:
- Milk 0.64 €
- White bread (500g) 0.55 €
- Rice (1kg) 0.92 €
- A dozen eggs 1.17 € 1.01-1.33
- Local cheese (1kg) 7.37 €
- Chicken breasts (1kg) 4.38 €
- Apples (1kg) 1.01 €
- Banana (1kg) 0.92 €
- Oranges (1kg) 0.46 €
- Tomatoes (1kg) 0.46 €
- Potatoes (1kg) 0.41 €
- Onions (1kg) 0.39 €
- Lettuce (1 piece) 0.46 €
- Bottled water (1.5 liters) 0.51 €
Other prices: a good bottle of wine will be around 7 euros and a half-liter bottle of national beer will be about 1.50 euros. Imported beer will cost double. If you’re a smoker, a pack of Marlboro’s, to give you just an idea, costs 3 Euros.