Would you rather live in Armenia or Azerbaijan?

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

Armenia, becaust at least it's mostly Christian and the government isn't as bad.

[GMantis]

Why don't you try Burundi and Rwanda next?

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

Why don't you try Burundi and Rwanda next?

I have one more, but not that one. That's a no brainer though at this point, Burundi.

[Colin]

Why don't you try Burundi and Rwanda next?

I have one more, but not that one. That's a no brainer though at this point, Burundi.

Plus Armenia and Azerbaijan are Eden compared to those two crap holes.

[ag]

Life for an expat is a lot better in Azerbaijan: for starters, you aren't going to freeze to death in winter, nor is there any chance you'd have to heat your place with your own furniture. Also, from what I hear, Baku is (was?) a better, more sofisticated city than Yerevan, though, of course, it lost a lot of its famous cosmopolitanism since they kicked out their Armenians.  It's easier to get around in Azerbaijan, since you can actually read signs - Azeri has shifted to the Latin alphabet, wheras Armenians are justly proud of their own ancient writing system that is entirely incomprehensible to outsiders. And then, there is oil, and, consequently, there are lots of other expats, so the social life should be decent.  Armenia is isolated, very mono-ethnic, and very, very poor.

Now, Azerbaijan is a dictatorship, and the president-king has inherited the throne from his father. But, then, Armenia's politics hasn't been positively affected by the war either - it is a rather austere and undemocratic military regime.  I am generally sympathetic to Armenia's plight, but I wouldn't really choose to live there.

On one epicurean count, though, Armenia wins hands down: they are a lot better at making brandy there.

Now, if I really wanted to choose a place to live in the region, I'd go for Georgia. Tbilisi, they tell me, is a truly remarkable place. And there isn't a better cuisine in the world than Georgian.

[jerusalemcar5]

Why don't you try Burundi and Rwanda next?

I have one more, but not that one. That's a no brainer though at this point, Burundi.

Plus Armenia and Azerbaijan are Eden compared to those two crap holes.

Rwanda's not all that bad.  In fact it is pretty cool.  Sure it had its issues, but it is improving.