Although this is about Romania but its similar to life in Armenia except that the prices in Armenia are three, four and five times higher than the prices given of Romania by this American who married a Romanian girl and moved to the capital of Romania. (but the taxes are not so high in Armenia, if he pays in Romania for an apartment a yearly $30tax, in Armenia its only $50), however buying a good decent apartment in the downtown of Yerevan starts from $100,000, this is all due because of diaspora Armenians who bought and speculated by buying houses & apartments in Yerevan raising thus the prices and making it impossible for a native young Armenian couple to afford a place to live in.
Here is the comment of our American friend living with his Romanian wife and children in Bucharest:
"We bought a beautiful apartment in downtown Bucharest for $19,000, bought a used car for $300 and a fertile piece of land with a peasant house fifty kilometers outside of Bucharest for $15,000 and now live completely debt free. How many Americans live debt free? The taxes on our house is about $30!! In the city we live in a normal urban setting where there is contact with other people in the streets, the markets and the people in stores know us personally and greet us. We're on friendly terms with our neighbors and visit each other. We have very efficient public transportation in the form of subways, trams and buses. We have our children's school right next door and have one of the biggest public parks and youth centers within walking distance. The Christian religion is taught in the public schools and our children are taken to church for communion. A priest comes to teach them about morals and ethics. There is even a civics class where the children learn the value of honesty, altruism, helping the needy, forgiveness and overall good social ethics. I can detect no dark or perverse agendas being forced on our children and being an American, I logically would be a good judge of this.
On the land we have in the country; together with my wife's family, we grow all our own food. We have fruit trees, grape vines and a yearly garden that provides all the family's needs through the winter. Making preserves in jars basically makes us independent. Having chickens provides us with a steady supply of natural eggs as well. The country house has its own deep well and so its independent of municipal water and the heating is wood burning. It's a great satisfaction for a product of an American suburb like myself to have gone back to a natural lifestyle with an intimate relationship with nature and the traditional way of life. Most of the villagers still go around with horse drawn wagons so in a way, I did eventually find my very own "Little House in the Prairie".
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