Why I Spend Less Time in Tbilisi

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There is no doubt that we love Georgia here at Nomad Capitalist. From its simple real estate investment market to its fantastic offshore banking. Not to mention it’s low taxes. The country offers some of the most wanted amenities any entrepreneur or digital nomad could ask for.

But last time, Andrew spent less time in Georgia, and here is why.

00:00 Start
0:16 Living in Tbilisi
2:50 Taxes in Georgia
3:30 Travel to Georgia
4:00 What Happened in Tbilisi
6:04 Kakhi Kaladze
7:00 Things to do in Georgia
8:50 Investing in Georgia

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[nomadcapitalist]

What is your favourite city in Eastern Europe?

[jimbo]

Just a fyi - rentals have spiked in Tbilisi with the war in Ukraine, apparently lost of Russians headed there driving up prices

[TheDenn]

Having travelled to Tbilisi a lot, this year alone over three times, I can attest to your claims. My wife and I nearly moved there as we have friends in Tbilisi. We came to realise the same things as you have and I too have had several situations where I did not take the terrible service kindly.

[intellectualgladiata]

In many ways I have the same opinion of some of the Balkan countries, I haven't yet been to Georgia but plan to. It is one thing to have favorable conditions such as higher levels of freedom and low taxes to attract the capital to the country but they need to take the next step if they want to get their hands on that capital themselves. The way to do that is via providing amazing goods and services with a fantastic customer service ethic so that people happily spend their money at your establishment and want to come back. There's a little restaurant around the Ponta in Tivat that we keep going back to because it's always wonderful service with a smile. They get it because the little place is always full. Some other restaurants we go to people scowl at us because we didn't order a starter and dessert.

[kennethkilpatrick]

Two months I spent there I was renting very cheap Airbnb's. I appreciated the signage in English everywhere since Georgian is indecipherable. But cheap Airbnb's don't insulate you from the negative elements. And I often felt an undercurrent of resentment. No matter my low budget, I was a "rich" American. But met some great people too. I think go to Georgia for the natural environment but for city lifestyle not so much. Did enjoy the parks in Batumi.

[haddadrk]

Thank you for the update. Would love to hear your latest thoughts on Montenegro and Serbia

[MP-hzye]

You're totally right. They doesn't care about details. The wifi in the airport is a good example.

[AmatriceBand]

Anywhere that turns into a gringo hub surely drives the cost of living in the city exponentially and hence the resentment of locals who are in not so hot jobs and work at least 10 hrs a day. This pattern applies to anywhere in the world. Being open to foreign investment has its own side effects.

[thomashilmersen]

The service has gotten worse all over the world. I see it in the US, Turkey, Italy, Colombia, etc.. I think it's due to the high inflation and people "quiet quitting".

[Maleficarum]

Even as native Georgian I fully understand those difficulties with service, some time ago I used to work at night (had a remote job overseas) so I would visit groceries at night because that's when I was awake, it was blood boiling to always get one security guard that haunts your steps as if you are going to steal something.

[hughjass]

It may one day "come back" but history shows us that areas that start a slow, steady decline almost always have to hit rock bottom first and very often stay that way for some time before the task of bringing them back begins. By that time of course, the task at hand is colossal.

[pathslesstrampled]

You want CLEAN? Go to Uzbekistan!

I was just there for the first time. I was absolutely stunned by how spotless the place is. People have this low-key friendliness. Not much of interest in Tashkent, but the layout of the streets is really well-done. Broad, walkable boulevards, lots of trees. And Samarkand was beautiful! Clean, nicely landscaped, snow-capped mountains (Tajikistan) in the distance.

And the Uzbeks are MUCH better drivers than the Georgians!

[talofalava]

Hey Andrew, I am here in Georgia atm, from Australia.(Nov 2022)
I find this country very behind the times, which I actually love about it. The history is amazing, the restaurants and atmosphere is incredible.
One thing I do have to agree with you is the service. That was the first thing I did notice. If they just smiled a bit, it would make this place stand out on its own. I don't expect it to be like back home, cause I wouldn't want anything the same as where I have just come from. But if you want customers to return, a little smile goes a long way.

That's my only down fall of Georgia.

[Felixxxxxxxxx]

Georgia has a lot of Russians nowadays, which is the main reason why the rent is up. I was considering relocating there but changed my mind because of the issues with the war in Ukraine. I think for me as an EU citizen Bulgaria or Estonia will probably be where I would like to have my home base.

[AmandainGeorgia]

Ugh, so insufferable. “We put Tbilisi on the map, and we can take it off.” That’s how this sounds. Honestly, I’ve lived in Georgia for 13 years and trash has always been an issue. Everywhere. And there are many things to be said about poor planning in Tbilisi re parking and traffic movement. But the service is certainly not worse than it was a decade ago. It’s spotty. But it’s a fraction of the price of places where service is really high. I don’t live in Tbilisi, mostly because I’m not a city person at all. I hated living in Moscow. I even struggled living in San Diego at times. Too many people. But that has to do with my personal preferences and not the city. Let’s hope Ukraine is soon victorious, people can go back to their homes, rents can come back down a bit, and then we can talk about school programs to educate about litter, etc.

[pg]

Check out Kutaisi or the outskirts of Batumi in the mountains.

[derek]

Like 10 new restaurants and 15 new coffee shops opened in Vera alone after the pandemic. Don't really know what you mean by things got "less". It is definitely more fun than 2019. The best part is many russian, Ukrainian and Belarusian workers came and they do an amazing job in restoring houses. So this got better too.

[lorriepatterson]

Thanks for the update. Graffiti and trash is a key reason my husband and I have ruled out several trendy retirement cities/towns. It is an aesthetic that really matters to me.

[virginiaestateandretiremen]

Where do you plan to spend most of your time now?

[genstian]

Well, 200k russians flodded in, along with a lot of ukrainians, I'd say the city got way worse after the war. And you have a good bit of that "they took our jobs" sort of thing, I've seen russians in taxis, russians in food delivery. Ukrainians begging in the streets. Tagging never really bothered me, its a 100 times better than Norway (take the train from Gardemoen airport into Oslo and you get a feel for how the country is). Bread is close to twice the cost of what it used to be when I moved here. I got power bills in the summer upwards of 400 lari. Sure, I'll survive, no problem. But there is a much stronger feeling of real poverty.

My biggest annoyance is still that the government tries to copy bad european ideas, thus creating the traffic issues we've been in Vake area, ow, and the store just across the street is no longer 24/7.