Being a Digital Nomad in Tashkent – with a kid

Eilidh Crowley

Sept. 13, 2024

With the introduction of the new “Uzbekistan – My Second Home” digital nomad visa, there are going to be more and more people moving to this quickly developing Central Asian country, and working remotely.

For the moment the visa will only for the Khorezm province (where Khiva is situated), however in time, we’re expecting it to be extended to the entire country. In the meantime though, there are plenty of people who work remotely whilst travelling on tourist visas, and more and more situations where we’re looking for good working spaces. This can include public or private spaces in your accommodation, designated co-working spaces, eating and drinking establishments, outdoor spaces such as parks, just to name a few, and we’ve all got slightly different boxes we’re looking to tick when searching for a good work space. For some people a view is imperative, for others lighting is key. Some people want comfy, loungey seating, some want to be sitting upright at a table, and for some people that doesn’t really matter as such. Somewhere lively, or some place quiet. Maybe the food and drink selection is key, maybe it doesn’t really matter.

However, add in the extra factor of having a child with you, and the pickings become much slimmer.

We spend a lot of time in Tashkent between tours, partly because of how accessible it’s becoming with increasing numbers of flights to more and more destinations, and partly because it’s just a cool city that’s very comfortable and interesting to spend time in (not a way I would have described Tashkent 10 years ago!). And the places that tick our boxes are cafes with children’s play areas – nice seating, relaxed vibe, free wifi and wall plugs, and somewhere for children to play while we work. Not that we personally need it, but these types of cafes also often have English menus and staff that speak at least some English.

So here’s a list of a few of our favourite places to work while our kid entertains herself in a play room.

1. Rodena, 199 Parkent Street

Situated in the east of Tashkent, it’s a fairly small café, however pretty much all the seats have a view of the kids’ area, which also isn’t necessary because there’s a full-time babysitter who is brilliant with the children. However, the play room is right in the middle of the café, so if they are being noisy, pretty much everyone can hear everything. The café itself has a pretty typical menu of a modern café in Uzbekistan, with a wide variety of dishes. There are a couple of staff members who speak some English, however there is no English menu. Free wifi and chargers at all tables, and never an issue with sitting there for a long time. A little tip though – Yandex does not know the location of the café, so if you take the automatic location they give you, you’ll end up on a side street behind it. So make sure you look up the location beforehand and go to the right spot.

2. Broccoli Park, 876P+R56, near the corner of Khorezm Street and Uzbekistan Ovozi Street

This one is very central, just a couple of minutes’ walk from Amir Timur Square. There is also a baby-sitter at the kids’ area here, however most of the seating is out of eyesight of it – that doesn’t bother us at all, but some people would obviously prefer to be able to see their child. The play area isn’t enclosed though, and it’s in quite a large hall, so it can get quite echoey and noisy. A very similar menu to Rodena, though a little pricier. There is free wifi of course, however there aren’t that many places to charge things.

3. Benedict Café, 31/2 Nukus Street

Very close to the train station and not that far from the centre of the city (to the south), this one is a bit more “high-end”, with a menu and prices to reflect it. They have several versions of eggs benedict, and other similar types of breakfast dishes, amongst many other things, but you’re looking at about $7-$10 for most main meals. The kids’ area is nicely separate, so you can’t hear anything from them in the main part of the café, and actually I think most people probably don’t even notice the play room. That being said, it is easily visible from half a dozen of the tables, so if you want to be able to see your child, you can. There’s no baby-sitter here, but again, no issue at all with sitting for many hours to work. Having said that you can’t hear the children though, the café itself does tend to become quite noisy. There is an English menu and several English speaking staff here.

4. Nice Joy, 89 Khurshid Street

Located in the northern part of the city, the menu here focuses a bit more on desserts and sweet breakfasts, such as pancakes, waffles and pastries. It’s quite reasonably priced, and also has a good selection of drinks. The staff are lovely, and there is at least one who speaks a little bit of English. The physical menu is only in Russian, however they also have a QR code where you can get an English (or Uzbek) menu online. The kids’ area is down a spiral staircase though, completely separate from the seating, which is great in that it means noise is to a minimum, however it’s a bit annoying if you do need to go to your kid, having to go up and down the stairs. However, if you’re worried about not being able to see them, no need – they provide you with an ipad on a stand with a live feed of a camera down there. Bring on the future! There aren’t many wall plugs, so you need to choose your table carefully, but staff are really accommodating and won’t make you feel uncomfortable at all for sitting there for several hours.

5. Puro, Corner of Little Ring Road and Beshkayragoch Street

Online there is some information that this one of the Puro branches (there are two in Tashkent) has a children’s play area, however this is outdated. Firstly, it’s no longer a Puro, but there also is no play room, and it’s also a terrible work environment in general. No wifi, ridiculously loud music, and for some reason a thousand screaming children, even though there’s no particular reason to take a child there. As you can tell – I’m not a fan!

Of course, there are plenty of other places that have children’s areas, but for the moment these are our favourite spots where we can work while she’s left to her own devices. If you’ve got any others that you like, please share them with us !