Leigh Fergus

Casablanca, Morocoo

While it doesn't have the instant appeal of Marrakech, Morocco's largest city Casablanca has a charm that is hard to deny.

Property prices are sweet, but going up, so you'll need to hunt carefully for the best-value places. For housing, you can find apartments of more than 1,200 square feet just outside the city center for less than $80,000, but for downtown properties in the Art Deco quarters, you may need to pay a little more. Casablanca Immobilier has a two-bedroom apartment in the central Bourgogne quartier of more than 750 square feet with a wrap-around terrace, marble floor, and underground parking for $137,000. Or you can rent; a downtown furnished two-bedroom apartment of 1,000 square feet can cost just over $600 a month, and a European-style villa by the sea starts at around $1,500.

Casablanca has no major tourist attractions, there's a lot of potential, but the local authorities don't have the experience of entrepreneurs in the way that Marrakech authorities do, so you'll need to be resilient, as well. You may also find it helpful to get in touch with the regional investment centers that have been set up. For Casablanca, try www.casainvest.ma.

Leigh Fergus