#47 The Upcoming Digital Nomad Destination - Armenia

The South Caucasus has risen in popularity as a digital nomad region. But for a single country, Georgia. While its southern neighbor has nothing less to offer.

I'm talking about 🇦🇲 Armenia, a country I first wanted to visit 8 years ago. Due to the pandemic and my digital nomad journey, I never got to do it. Until last month, when the guys from Nomad Armenia were adamant to give Armenia a week and see how it feels for remote workers. So here is what I found there...

LinkedIn Content Brought Me to Armenia

I have been creating content on LinkedIn for over a year now. Wrote about 170 posts and reached around 200,000 accounts. Some posts have reached their readers, some not.

In November, I first came across content from Mathew Zein from Life in Armenia magazine. His writing skills stood out to me at first sight. So we connected.

In a few weeks, I've seen Mathew talking about Nomad Armenia. My first thought went "Nomads? In Armenia? Let me see how I can help these guys!"

We have been in touch for a few months when Mathew and Paul, his co-founder, invited me & Jamie to Armenia.

They have been preaching the walkability of Yerevan, the green hills of Dilijan, and the fresh air of the mountains of Armenia. While we were in the other part of the world, we agreed.

The first time I ever contemplated the idea of visiting Armenia was around 7 years ago. I came across the Hike Armenia organization and thought hiking in Armenia looked cool. Then the pandemic happened, and travel stopped. And so here I was, it somehow felt like a full circle, but in June, I finally boarded a plane to Yerevan!

Mathew is a dedicated man. His mission is to pick up the first 100 digital nomads in the country by himself. Together with Mariam, they greeted us at the airport with a sign that was hard to miss ;) If the first impression is something to go by. I was blown away.

Mathew has stopped in Armenia on the way from China to Canada with his wife. They had a trip booked for 1 week. They ended up staying for 9 years. I naturally wondered, why?

Will Jamie and I get to leave this country in 7 days? (lol)

Mathew has been a great spokesperson and ambassador to Armenia. His digital magazine is read by more than 20,000+ readers every month, and he gives a platform to many unique stories coming from this unique country.

Positioning and marketing Armenia to digital nomads comes as a natural step. If there is an audience to whom I think I don't have to explain the importance of digital nomads and remote workers, it's you, the subscribers of this newsletter.

Armenia In a Nutshell

Armenia is a country situated in the South Caucasus. Some locals told me Armenians are proud of their country being landlocked. Something I'm familiar with, as my homeland, Slovakia, is also a landlocked country. While living without access to the sea makes life, business, economy, and development generally harder, there is something special about countries that accept that fact.

Armenia might not have ocean access, but it has other perks. A giant, high-altitude lake, Lake Sevan, is situated an hour's drive from Yerevan. While the area seems still rather underdeveloped, the potential and natural beauty of this lake is not to be questioned.

Not too far away from Lake Sevan, although with no access to it, there is an amazing glamping project at work by a local community. You can stay and check it out here at Nature Rooms Cabin. Nothing beats a stay with locals and embedding into the local community. Something strong and present in Armenia - the hospitality of locals.

If you feel like nature, but not necessarily water, you can always make your way to Dilijan. A town located in the middle of green forests, historically known as the Soviet retreat center, and today home to multiple great organizations like Hike Armenia, as well as over 500+ digital nomad families living there.

From what I've seen and heard, Dilijan has a lot of development in progress and it seems the digital nomads and remote workers are the strong segment there. If you ever get tired of Armenian food ( which I found impossible to get) and feel like eating Ramen, Korean BBQ, or visiting authentic Neapolitan cuisine, you will find all of it and much more in Dilijan.

There are other places like Gyumri, Sunyik region, or Stepanavan, that are meant to provide a great experience for their visitors, but we only have 7 days, and on our last visit, we didn't get to explore them.

Where To Stay in Armenia?

Our base for the week was the Tufenkian Historic Hotel in the center of Yerevan, near Republic Square.

While Yerevan is a large metropolis with almost 2 million inhabitants and an accessible subway network, if you choose to stay in central Yerevan, you will likely be able to access all the city's monuments by a walk.

That's a big benefit as it makes you flexible. If you don't wish to walk in the hot summer days, you can always take an electric scooter or Yandex, a local version of Uber.

Yerevan is a unique city, full of semi-circular buildings designed by Alexander Tamayan in the 1920s, to build a radial circular city. Most of the buildings were built from tuf, a pinkish volcanic stone. (Speaking of, did you know Armenia has over 300 volcanoes?)

I have an extra report on Yerevan in the works and will be part of next week's newsletter - packed with more recommendations.

How To Get to Armenia?

Getting to Armenia is not difficult. It's very easy. Many European cities are offering direct connections with low-cost carriers. So in the shoulder season, it's also fairly affordable.

Yerevan (EVN) Zvarnots airport has a direct connection to 69 airports worldwide.

For non-fliers or slow travelers, Armenia is perfectly accessible from Georgia by a short drive or a bus ride. I would prefer flying in, as there are about 90 more nomads to be welcomed in person by Mathew, and that is an experience in itself :)

✅ Who is Armenia For?

• A remote worker or a nomad who is tired of the classic over-gentrified and busy destinations
• A nomadic family that seeks a peaceful, safe, and family-oriented environment
• Freelancers and start-up founders in tech - the local talent pool is large
• Christians - Armenia adopted Christianity as the state religion in 301AD
• World citizens looking for new residency opportunities
• Outdoor people who like to spend their time hiking, running, horse riding
• Entrepreneurs located in Dubai are looking for a quick getaway for a change of scenery

❌ Who is Armenia Not For?

• Anyone looking for partying and one-night-stand culture. In Armenia, people date for marriage.
• People who don't like to experience cosmopolitan and multicultural places on their travels.
• People who are afraid to drive in chaotic traffic or those who don't trust local drivers.
• Honestly, I cannot think of anyone else, as there is a wide range of offerings that Armenia brings.

Misconceptions of Armenia

I also had a surprisingly large number of "ideas" of what Armenia was going to be like, but I have to say most of them have been miles from the truth. So here are some that I heard some friends of mine, fellow nomads and travelers, say:

• A lot of people think that it's not safe on the street - It's some of the safest places I've visited, with kids running in the city fountains at 1 AM.
• A lot of people thought about Armenia's lack the infrastructure for digital nomads and remote workers, while there are already 500+ digital nomad families living in Dilijan, and Yerevan is full of remote workers.
• A lot of people thought Armenia was underdeveloped, while there are hundreds of tech/fintech companies operating worldwide that have turned into unicorns.
• A lot of people have no idea of how delicious Armenian food is - the fusion of Armenian, Slavic, Persian, and even Syrian tastes.

Mathew answered 18,000 questions about life in Armenia in the past 1 year on his personal LinkedIn alone, out of which many were basically breaking false narratives and beliefs.

Why is Armenia so Underrated While Georgia Is Popular?

Something every nomad at Bansko Nomad Fest asked as soon as we started talking about Armenia, How come Georgia got so popular while Armenia did not, while they are neighboring countries?

TLDR: Programs, visa schemes, marketing budget.

• 🇬🇪 Georgia: 95 + nationalities can walk in visa-free for a full year; plus the “Remotely From Georgia” digital nomad program, introduced in 2020, targets long-stay spenders
• 🇦🇲 Armenia: 60 + nationalities get 180 days, but no dedicated nomad visa. Visitors from key Asian markets (e.g., China, India) still need e-visas or invitations, adding friction.

Within 9 years, Georgia grew their visitor numbers by 350%, with tourist arrivals increasing from 1.4 million in 2010 to over 5 million by 2019.

Georgian government was very strategic about the programs they set up; the visitors they were aiming to bring in were high-spending individuals, and the programs, like low tax residency, spoke to the right audience.

While open borders help, strategic thinking behind them is the key.

Best Season to Visit Armenia?

While there is a newly built mountain resort, and apparently Armenia offers great skiing - I cannot quite testify to that, and let's say my standards are set high.

I would suggest the Spring and Autumn seasons are great for Yerevan, as summers may get hot in these volcanic-stone jungles. And while the semi-circular architecture makes it a bit more bearable, I'm not sure 33+ degrees Celsius is the best time to be there!

Dilijan, contrary, would be perfect also, including the summer. The light breeze, fresh air, and green hills all around make it a very pleasant getaway from big-city life.

Food, or All the  Zhingyalov Hats

In short, Armenian cuisine is an interesting fusion of Caucasus, Persian, and Levantine recipes, and herbs, combined with some Eastern European comfort food. What can go wrong, right?

My absolute personal favorite was the local cheese khachapuri bread made in a hot oven and the Zhingyalov Hats - a super thin lavash bread filled with up to 50 different local herbs. Drink tan (ayran/kefir) afterward, and you will be set for a true gourmet experience.

What Are The Locals Like?

I wanted to finish talking about locals. Being a traveler, visitor, a nomad - there has hardly been a time in history when we were portrayed as more of an enemy than now. Even in places that have seen better days and times, thanks to the incoming visitors.

Armenia is not like that. It feels like everyone is welcoming you. People are genuinely happy that you took your time, and money, and made your way to their country. I posted on LinkedIn on my first day of stay in Armenia about an amazing venture café. The post has gone semi-viral, and in the space of the next days, I

• Met the owner of the creator of the Ground Zero venture café (Armenian-American entrepreneur)
• Met the founder of a software company, Hacktech, Hakob, who just liked my content on Armenia and was genuinely interested in meeting up
• Met my university friend after 2 years, as we both were at the same time in Yerevan
• Made countless connections.

I say that after 1 week in Yerevan, my network over there is 5x what my network in Bratislava, the capital of my homeland, is.

What stood out to me is the impact the diaspora has on the development. Armenians often say that there are 3x as many Armenians living outside of Armenia(over 8 million), as inside(3million).

One of the projects that absolutely stood out to me was COAF. Or Children of Armenia Fund. This organization understands that the education of the young generation in rural areas is absolutely fundamental to the future of any country.

COAF brings a wealth of educational resources and creative development opportunities to villages across the country.

All of this is in an ultra-modern setup in the middle of rural Armenia, providing free transport to kids within a 50km radius. We were present for the presentations of the end-of-the-year projects. I couldn't help but be constantly in disbelief.

Talking about nomadism, travel is talking to and about people with incredible privilege. We may not often realize it, but it is what it is.

Seeing all the kids from less privileged backgrounds, having the opportunity to learn, to grow, to dream, made me very emotional.

At the end of the day, the ultimate goal of every family, company, organization, and country is to secure its future.

This very day convinced me that there is a very bright future for Armenia ahead. Because we can have all the marketing budgets and all the strategies in place, but building a generation of bold thinkers, dreamers, and doers is what makes a place resiliant and prosperous.

Cannot wait to come back in a few months and a few years. To see how Armenia has changed since my last visit.

I'm pretty sure I will be blown away.