Moving to Armenia

Most Westerners picture moving to Thailand, the Philippines, Paraguay or other tropical countries when they’re escaping the West, but there are plenty of random countries which are a surprisingly good option, such as Armenia.

Armenia lies in the Caucasus region, and borders Azerbaijan, Turkey, Georgia and Iran.

Its capital is Yerevan, by far the most populous city in the country and the financial center of Armenia.

Armenia is a developing country, a unitary, multi-party, democratic nation-state with an ancient and very interesting history.

There are actually far more Armenians living outside Armenia than within its borders.

While the country’s domestic population sits at around 3 million, the global Armenian diaspora is estimated at 7 to 10 million.

Major communities thrive across Russia, the United States, France, and the Middle East, maintaining tight cultural and economic ties back home.

Armenia history

In 860 BC, the first Armenian state named Urartu was established, to be replaced by the Satrapy of Armenia by the 6th century BC.

Centuries later, it became a kingdom, and was in the year 301 the first state in the world to adopt Christianity as its official religion.

Thanks for that.

While Rome usually gets all the glory for being ancient, Yerevan actually outdates it by 29 years. Founded in 782 BC as the fortress of Erebuni, it is one of the world’s oldest continuously inhabited cities.

Walking through parts of the capital means standing on urban ground that has been continuously lived in for nearly three millennia.

They created their own alphabet in 405 AD, with 36-39 letters, and it’s still being used to this day.

Armenia geography

Geographically speaking, you can expect a lot of steppes, rolling hills and rivers, with some forests spread across the country.

Armenia lies well above sea-level (at least 390 meters / 1280 ft), and consists mostly of mountainous area.

It is located east of Eastern Europe, and west of the majority of Asia.

A bit in the middle, but it is considered (culturally) a European nation – although thankfully not a part of Europe.

That said, it is part of plenty of European organizations, such as the Council of Europe, Eurocontrol and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.

This could end up blowing up in its face once Western-Europe starts to collapse, but we’ll see.

It’s also part of plenty of Eurasian groups, such as the Asian Development Bank and the Eurasian Economic Union.

Armenia economy

Its economy is a mixed bag.

While mining (copper, molybdenum) and manufacturing are important, Armenia’s current day economy is heavily service-based (services account for roughly 55%+ of GDP, driven by IT, finance, tourism, and wholesale trade).

Agriculture also remains a major employment sector alongside industry.

Moving to Armenia requirements

Moving to Armenia does not come with a lot of requirements.

Armenia visa requirements are very, very relaxed. Citizens of many nations can stay there visa-free for up to 180 days per year, and others can get a visa on arrival.

It’s relatively hassle-free to move to Armenia and to stay there, because getting permanent residency is rather easy as well.

While temporary (1-year) residency permits are relatively simple to get, permanent residency (5-year) typically requires holding temporary status first or making direct local business investments.

This is one of the main reasons Armenia is so attractive to move to, or make it one of your Bases.

The only hard requirement of moving to Armenia is having at least one source of self-employed, location independent international income.

You generally do not want to work for an Armenian company, because jobs in Armenia for expats not only tie you too tightly to this country, you’ll also have to pay more taxes.

Speaking of which: if you live in Armenia for 183 days or more within a 12-month period, you become an Armenian tax resident.

And unfortunately it taxes your worldwide income – so don’t live there permanently!

Cost of living in Armenia

Living in Armenia on a budget can be done, as the average cost of living is around $1,400 for a single person in Yerevan.

This has steeply increased in the last years, seeing an almost 40% increase in a short period.

The mass influx of foreign expats, remote workers, and capital following geopolitical events in 2022 caused housing and living costs in Yerevan to spike by 30%–40% almost overnight.

However, since then, price growth has stabilized, with annual inflation returning to normal single-digit levels (roughly 4% to 5%).

So yeah, the cost of living in Armenia used to be really cheap and it didn’t take much to live in Armenia, and while it’s still well within reach for everyone, it’s not as dirt-cheap anymore.

If you have one or multiple sources of international income, you should be able to live a good life here.

Don’t take this figure as an absolute, however, I’d recommend you aim for making at least $2,000 a month in location independent income.

That way, you can not only live a great life in Armenia, but you can also save money, invest it, and pay for any other luxuries you might want, or emergency expenses you might incur.

That being said – moving to smaller cities like Gyumri, Vanadzor, or Dilijan cuts your housing costs by 50% to 70%. A single person can still comfortably live outside Yerevan for $700 to $900 a month

The Armenia living conditions vary from “okay” to really good – depending on how flexible you are, where you live and what you need.

Benefits of living in Armenia

Armenia visa requirements are easy

You can get a visa-on-arrival, or stay in the country without a visa for up to 180 days per year. A one-year-temporary resident card is possible, and permanent residence is a valid option as well. All in all, Armenia visa requirements are excellent
Decent climate

While Armenia is by no means a sunny tropical paradise, it does have plenty of sunshine, not many rainy days, low humidity. In summer the temperature can get pretty high, but because of the low humidity and prevalent breezes, it’s rather comfortable
Improving economy

Armenia is no Vietnam or Cambodia, but is still seeing respectable GDP growth every year
Safe

Armenia is a tiny little country that nobody really cares much about, so you don’t have to worry about terrorism. Other crime numbers are similarly low
Low cost of living

Living in Armenia isn’t very expensive, compared to most Western nations. If you make a decent location-independent income, you can live a comfortable life
Great interest rates

Currently, you can open a bank account in Armenia (in their currency, the AMD) with interest rates of 9 to 10.5%, which is really excellent, especially compared to the 0-0.5% in most Western banks. If you deposit USD or EUR in your Armenian bank account, you can still benefit from 3.5-5.5% interest.

Disadvantages of living in Armenia

Low English proficiency

It depends on where you live and who you interact with, but the average level of English in Armenia is substandard in general. In Yerevan, among younger demographics, it should be much better, however.
Shitty neighbors

Armenia is by far the best country in its region, but that doesn’t really say much if you consider it shares borders with shitholes like Iran, Azerbaijan and Turkey. Georgia’s pretty great, though
Developing country

While it can certainly be a good thing to live in a developing country (you can invest and profit from the growth), this also comes with downsides such as higher unemployment rates, sometimes rather lacking infrastructure in rural areas, poor air quality in the capital, and so on

Moving to Armenia - by the numbers

Armenia Score

Shithole Paradise

Climate: 7.5/10

Hours of sunshine (9/10)	Temperature (5/10)	Rainy days (10/10)	Humidity (10/10)
7	11 C – 52 F	7.6	58%

Level of English: 6/10

Moderate Proficiency

Cost of Living: 7/10

Minimum Annual Wage	Average monthly cost single person
$1,698	$701 (+$780 rent 1 BR)

Taxes on international income: 7/10

0-22%

You have to pay taxes on your international income if you’re considered a resident, which is the case if you are there at least 183 days per year.

Economic growth: 8.5/10

Average GDP growth over the last 10 years: 5-6%

Safety: 9/10

Global Terrorism Index (8/10)	Intentional homicide rate (9/10)	Rape rate (10/10)
0.4	2	0.36

Visa: 8.5/10

Visa (9/10)

Most Westerners (with the exception of Americans) can stay here visa free for up to 180 days, and a visa on arrival is possible. In addition, you can get a Temporary resident card, up to one year, if you have some sort of business activity, or through other means such as familial bond. Extendable by another year
Permanent Residency (8/10)

Up to 5 years if you have business here, extendable by another 5 years
Citizenship (8/10)

Possible after 3 years of legal residence, need to speak Armenian, dual citizenship is possible

How is life in Armenia for foreigners?

Life in Armenia for foreigners is pretty great.

Armenia is a safe country with plenty of nature, friendly locals, a low cost of living, and the possibility of permanent residency.

The level of English proficiency is okay, so if you were to live here full-time, you’d need to learn Armenian – which isn’t easy, as they have their own alphabet.

In addition, if you were to live here full-time (more than half a year per year), you’d have to pay taxes.

The Armenian government would probably not know where you money comes from, so you’d be able to avoid paying taxes, but that wouldn’t be legal and in the long run could interfere with your happiness.

The cost of living in Armenia used to be really cheap, and what you needed to live in Armenia wasn’t much, but over the last few years, the cost of living has gone up in the capital.

It’s still very doable and cheaper than Western nations, but not as great as it used to be.

I’d advise you to use Armenia as one of your Bases.

The Armenia visa requirements are very low, so you can just travel there and explore.

You can get permanent residency, invest, or open a bank account there (they’ve got 9.5%+ interest rates at the moment, miles higher than any Western nation).

Armenia might not be the greatest country in the world to spend all your time in, but as a Base (or even multiple Bases), it is 100% worth it.