- I moved midway throughout the globe simply to be with my associate.
- I did not communicate the language or have a job lined up, and I might by no means lived with a associate earlier than.
- We struggled and fought to start with however overcame the obstacles and I could not be happier.
I met my associate in the summertime of 2020. What we each thought can be a summer season fling become a three-year long-distance relationship.
Initially, we lived in several elements of the US. First, she moved to New York whereas I stayed in California. Then, I moved to New Mexico, then Virginia, earlier than settling in Boston for some time to pursue my grasp’s diploma at Boston School.
We welcomed the four-hour commute between Boston and New York, however then she obtained a Fulbright scholarship in Armenia. There are not any direct flights between Armenia and Boston, and the flights can vary between 10 to fifteen hours costing between $800 and $1,200 round-trip.
This meant we might solely afford to go to one another twice throughout this time interval. After her scholarship was over, my associate, who’s ethnically Armenian, wished to remain, so we agreed that I’d transfer to stay together with her after I graduated.
I might lived in Armenia for a few months in 2023 as a part of a Russian language immersion program, and could not have been extra excited to stay there once more.
I had no paying job lined up once I landed in Armenia, and neither did my associate
The plan was that she was going to volunteer with Birthright Armenia, and I’d volunteer with the Armenian Volunteer Corps.
We have been solely paying $275 (earlier than utilities) for a one-bedroom in Vanadzor, the third-largest metropolis in Armenia. Nevertheless, since we have been each volunteering, we weren’t making a living and, after just a few months, have been operating low on funds from our financial savings.
On high of that, there have been the challenges of dwelling with a associate for the primary time. Whereas rising pains are regular, shifting in collectively in a rustic the place you’re nonetheless studying the customs and unfamiliar with the language provides a wholly new dimension of stress.
I usually felt remoted, which led to a number of disagreements over learn how to tackle the scenario.
Regardless of these challenges, we overcame them by being proactive
Firstly of 2025, we moved to Yerevan, the capital, and landed full-time jobs in our respective fields.
We do not make as a lot as we might again within the US, however we’re spending far much less.
Though the price of dwelling in Yerevan has risen through the years, it’s nonetheless considerably low in comparison with Boston and New York Metropolis.
A median evening out to dinner and a number of drinks prices $30 to $50. Nevertheless, I may also get shawarma the scale of my head for beneath $3.
Now, we spend our weekends exploring the nation we now have beloved for therefore lengthy. We have explored the “fairy story province” of Lori and skied in Tsaghkadzor.
I additionally began taking non-public Russian classes on-line (most Armenians communicate Russian), and my Armenian has improved.
The kindness I’ve skilled from strangers in Armenia is solely unmatched
I’ve traveled extensively, and a lot of the locals are pleasant in international locations I’ve been to, but when I have been to rank them by friendliness, then Armenia can be No. 1.
Final month, I by chance took the improper bus to work and received stranded. Conveniently, my cellphone stopped working, and I used to be visibly upset.
A gaggle of ladies standing close by requested me what was improper. I instructed them (in damaged Russian, no much less) of my predicament. One of many ladies known as her daughter, who spoke English.
Once I instructed the daughter the place I labored, it simply so occurred that her mom labored shut by. They insisted on ordering me a taxi, refusing any money provide I made as a token of thanks, and giving me chocolate as a parting reward.
Such acts of kindness are a standard expertise in Armenia.
We dated long-distance for 3 years, and we couldn’t look forward to the day to be collectively in the identical place
Seeing Mount Ararat each morning by no means will get outdated, however I’ve longed to go to sleep and get up subsequent to my associate — nothing compares to that.
All through every part, she has made me stronger. I solely hope she feels the identical.
I do not know what the long run holds for the 2 of us, however I do know we’re each joyful we determined to start out a brand new chapter of our lives right here.
I moved to Armenia to stay with my associate, however now that we now have steady jobs in a metropolis with a low value of dwelling and get the prospect to see the nation’s breathtaking magnificence nearly each weekend, we do not have a plan to go away anytime quickly.
For me, it was one of the best choice I ever made.
