Oleg Umnov moved to Armenia from Kirov with his wife and daughter. Here he makes and restores furniture. He spent three years living with his family in Yerevan before relocating to Dilijan. We talked to Oleg about how his pace of life has changed, why the neighbors feel like family, and what he thinks the town still needs.
There was never any question of where to move
We lived in Yerevan for three years and often drove out to Dilijan — slowly falling in love with the town. That’s how the idea crept in: why not get a place here. At some point, renting both an apartment and a workshop in Yerevan became too much. So we decided to change cities. We found the house through one of the local chats.
I sent my wife one photo of the balcony — she wrote back ‘we’re taking it’
The house is over 60 years old, and no one had lived in it for the last 30 of those. Even so, it was in decent shape and had a lot of potential. What scared us was that it had no power, water, or gas at all.
We started the renovation with electricity — the easiest part. We put in a new boiler, ran new pipes and radiators, and brought in water from the nearest connection point. While the work was going on, we lived in a guesthouse. Gas only showed up a month later, in October.
I started with the kitchen — had to put up a whole new wall there. Then drywall, paint, a new window, and I built the kitchen cabinets myself, out of birch plywood. It turned out really nice.
The house was full of old furniture — some of it I fixed up myself
There was a beautiful old table: the base was solid wood, and I restored it, then made a new top out of an old plank. It turned into a big, handsome table.
I love old things in general, and furniture I’m working on tends to follow me from workshop to workshop. We added some new pieces too — a coffee table, some Soviet-era armchairs. It all came together very cozy.
Our garden is big, full of fruit trees
But it was almost completely covered in blackberry bushes — we’ve cleared about half of it so far. In front of the house I laid down grass, put in a small pool for our daughter, made a little vegetable patch with tomatoes and cucumbers — and, of course, flowers.
Getting to work now takes me 15 seconds
We looked for a house with both living space and workspace — downstairs we have a basement, and that’s my workshop. So getting to work I just have to walk downstairs.
So in Dilijan, we suddenly had time
In Yerevan I was in a constant rush just to cover the basics. Here the financial pressure is lower, and we’ve noticeably slowed down. An evening walk to the store became a little ritual. Neighbors were surprised at first: “What happened to your car, why are you walking?”
We also picked up a mini-tradition: regular trips to the vegetable market in Ijevan. It’s not just about the prices — an ordinary grocery run turns into a scenic little trip.
Life got tastier and cheaper — except for utilities and cafés
We started eating a lot more fresh vegetables and fruit. Twice a week, Molokan sellers come to our street — we buy milk, butter, and their famous sauerkraut from them. But for familiar brands from Yerevan, we sometimes have to drive to Vanadzor, where there’s a “Yerevan City” store.
We didn’t expect the town to be this strong on kids’ activities
Our daughter goes to a good kindergarten — cheaper than in Yerevan, with a wider program: languages, yoga, brain gym, a speech therapist.
Neighbors told us: “Welcome to the family”
Talking to people is my fuel. In three years in Yerevan I made a lot of friends, both Russian and local. It’s the same in Dilijan, only the town is smaller and the community is tighter-knit. A week after we moved in, the neighbors set up a huge table in the yard, and one of them made a toast: “Welcome to the family.” That’s when I realized I’d become a local.
In Dilijan I found calm and peace of mind
And more time with my family. And, of course, neighbors you don’t just say hi to — you drop by for coffee, for lunch, celebrate holidays together.
The first thing I show friends is our house
Guests usually stay for a night or two. To really get to know the town, you need to slow down: start with coffee or a glass of wine on the balcony with a view of the mountains, then go for a walk.
For first-time visitors, I recommend the architectural walking tour of the town, run from the local center near the park entrance. It shows you what the town was meant to be — and what never got built.
Dilijan is missing a single design code
There are already pockets of beautifully preserved architecture. If the whole town looked like that — tidy little houses, no loud signage — it would be pure magic.
Most absurd purchase after the move?
Mustard seeds
A word picked up from locals?
Tsavt Tanem
Power spot
The wine bar “Kliver”
Thing to bring from the old life
The opera and ballet theater
Sound that replaced city noise
Birdsong and the neighbor’s rooster crowing
Dilijan as a person
Would be a psychologist
Three words about the town
Close-knit, quiet, dear
