I primarily moved to Georgia for its' 360 day visa and 0% foreign income tax (I make money online).
I was also able to make a bank account within 20 minutes and they gave me a Debit Card with MasterCard as a payment processor. I have been able to use this card online to buy stuff on Expedia, AirBnb and Steam but I have no idea yet if it will work in foreign ATMs or not.
You would think with such a generous visa policy and 0% tax this place would be overran by westerners but I guess the few who came discovered the negatives of living in Georgia and then left. Although some people online claim to lived in Georgia for years I never met said people in person. So I guess these mysterious invisible long term expats must be hiding in their apartments 24/7 because I never met them at the most popular cafes and bars in Batumi.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batumi
I've primarily been living in Batumi the so called 'Las Vegas of Georgia'
I am happy about making a lot of tax free money. Cost of living is super cheap. I've been staying in $500/month studios on Airbnb. Just the other day I was able to buy 5 sodas, an ice cream sandwich and a MnMs for like $4 USD. If you eat out at restaurants then expect to pay $5 - $15 per trip.
Effectively this is one of the cheapest places in the world to live. The only country I know that is cheaper is probably 2nd tier Ukraine like Lviv or Laos in South East Asia. But the special thing about Georgia is they will let you stay for a whole year and then you can do a border run to reset your 360 days.
Allegedly if you try Facebook or Real Estate websites then you should be able to get an apartment down to $350 a month (but after paying utilities it will be $400 a month if I had to guess).
There's no such thing as $200 or $300 apartments in Batumi's old town. The only realistic way you could get a place that cheap is living in the outskirts and I don't recommend it. My understanding is Batumi is more pricey than Tbilisi because Batumi is a huge tourism center.
Where to live in Batumi
The Piazza, Argo Cable Car, Art Musuem or across the street from the Alphabet Tower. The rest of Batumi is like an urban sprawl and the quality of restaurants / stores is lower outside of the old town.
If you have zero interest in restaurants / bars and just want to cook everything and be a shut-in then I would recommend living close to the Batumi mall for its' supermarket and 24 hour Gym.
Restaurants to go
Most Georgian restaurants are consistent in quality. Just be forewarned that the food is often oily, fried and over-seasoned. I often had high blood pressure after eating Georgian unless I ate something healthier like Lobio (Red Beans with Cornbrread). So if you do live here long term then I recommend to avoid Georgian restaurants and eat at places serving other cuisine (Bacio serves Italian, Restaurant Ukraine, et cetera).
Restaurants to avoid in Batumi: Georgians have a weird love fetish with German culture so you will find a lot of 'German Restaurants' in Batumi. The most famous being HB and Munich. I found the quality of the food to be really low (tough gamey meat), not authentic (as someone who has been to Germany 4 times) and overpriced. A lot of the negative reviews for these places point out the food quality issue but for every 1 negative review there's like 5 positive reviews (which makes me wonder if these restaurants are hiring marketing companies to pad up fake reviews).
Gyms in Batumi
There's a gym in the old town called Orbi Fitness Center but the hours are really weird (like often not open until 10 AM) and they charge like $45 USD a month. Which means if you live in the Old Town then you have a limited window to go to the Gym. Or you're forced to go to the 24 hour Gym in the Batumi mall (but this would require you to walk, take a taxi or drive).
Internet speed
I often get 20 mbps at most places (even in the evenings). I am actually amazed at this speed because internet providers in the United States and Canada seem to throttle their speed a lot. Someone from Europe or East Asia might think the internet is slow for them though.
Not much to do in Batumi
There's only 1 movie theater and it's tiny and only plays movies in Russian (meaning a lot of Georgian people can't watch movies there either!). The beach is just hard rocks and primarily middle age women & kids. No topless sunbathers I am afraid but I kind of half-expected that.
The 'Batumi Shopping Mall' is like 2 kilometers from the old town and inside it's pretty disappointing.
There's almost no women in the alcoholic nightlife. You do sometimes see them in big groups at the Piazza but from the looks of it they're with their family or on some kind of package tour group. So I often found myself (a bit frustrated) having to stay at home and then play computer games or Netflix.
English friendliness
Every waiter / waitress I've had in a restaurant, cafe or coffee house was capable of taking an order in English and responding back in broken English. Same with shopkeepers. So English here seems to be better than infamous areas of Europe like Italy or France. But even though there's fairly high rates of English the local Georgians won't be interested in you.
Xenophobia
I found Georgian people don't like westerners. Some cafes and restaurants I have been to 30 times and the staff haven't once asked me what country I am from, smiled or even tried small talk. So they have very little interest in outsiders even when you come from a nationality that is super rare in Georgia.
Cliquey
Not sure if it's me but EVERYONE in Batumi seems to be part of a group (and these groups are often 5 or so people). They're either going out with family, co-workers or they're on a package tour. I never see anyone alone in public unless they're a taxi driver or a shop keeper waiting for a customer. This strong cliqueyness reminds me more of Asia than American or Western European cultures.
Too many men *** IMPORTANT TO READ ****![[Image: dodgy.gif]](https://rooshvforum.network/images/smilies/dodgy.gif)
For some reason there's too many men in Batumi! If I do a headcount in public then I often count 6 men for every woman. Sometimes 12 men for every woman! You almost never see women at restaurants, cafes or bars unless they work there.
I suspect this is because of the Casinos and Oil Jobs in Batumi (Las Vegas in America has more men than women. As do oil towns). Locals and expats also claim the Adjaran-Georgian culture encourages women to stay home all day.
I've never been anywhere in the world that was a sausage festival 24/7 like Batumi is.
Prostitution
Because there's too many men in Batumi this also attracts a ton of prostitutes. There's about 30 or so 'Thai Massage Parlors' that are mini-Asian brothels and they have fixed prices. Usually $28 for a hour massage + $20 for a handjob or $40 for sex (meaning $70 for sex if P2P is your thing).
Just for Turkish men and Georgian men but allegedly there's sauna prostitution networks where the women are really cheap but there's no information in English or Russian on how to access this. This might just be an urban legend or maybe it was true 10 years ago but the police have since shut it down.
Practically every nightclub attracts freelancers who charge $200 USD/hour. Which is a crazy high price because monthly incomes in Georgia is like $150 a month! Also before the US Government shut down Craigslist a lot of American Prostitutes were charging $150 - $200 on there (but in America incomes are much higher. So why the Georgian prostitutes in nightclubs are charging so much? Georgian men and Russian men are too poor to afford $200/hour. It's mysterious. Sometimes you see 10 prostitutes waiting for a customer because too high of a price means no man wants or is able to buy).
Tinder
Batumi has been the most disappointing place for Tinder in my entire life so far. I almost never get any matches even though a westerner is considered high value in other continents (see xenophobia). I've had a few matches that were actually prostitutes trying to get me as a customer.
I don't understand why a Georgian woman wants a Georgian man (they are very short and poor) but I guess they have a strong slut shaming culture or it is the xenophobia.
Even though there's some Russians / Ukrainians coming to Batumi ~ on Tinder they don't seem as easy as back in their homelands. I think it's because women within 12 hours of coming here get sexually harassed or approached by a stereotypical Turk / Georgian with rapist day game: "SEX IN MY CAR NOW" and then their bitch shield remains high forever.
Oddly Turkish women on Tinder seem to love me (I was surprised about this because of the bad reputation of Turkish women) but I often lose interest because they look really ugly on their Tinder profile.
In all ~ I was only able to get 2 dates off Tinder over 6 months and both women were obsessed in A) wanting to know how much money I make and B) how soon I can marry them (these aren't exaggerations)
Verdict
I already decided I will leave Georgia. I guess I have to come back in 2020 or 2021 to pick up a new bank card but that would just be a maximum 2 week trip. I would rather pay higher taxes or commit tax evasion in an Asian country than to waste anymore time of my life here (especially with the women situation).
I was also able to make a bank account within 20 minutes and they gave me a Debit Card with MasterCard as a payment processor. I have been able to use this card online to buy stuff on Expedia, AirBnb and Steam but I have no idea yet if it will work in foreign ATMs or not.
You would think with such a generous visa policy and 0% tax this place would be overran by westerners but I guess the few who came discovered the negatives of living in Georgia and then left. Although some people online claim to lived in Georgia for years I never met said people in person. So I guess these mysterious invisible long term expats must be hiding in their apartments 24/7 because I never met them at the most popular cafes and bars in Batumi.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batumi
I've primarily been living in Batumi the so called 'Las Vegas of Georgia'
I am happy about making a lot of tax free money. Cost of living is super cheap. I've been staying in $500/month studios on Airbnb. Just the other day I was able to buy 5 sodas, an ice cream sandwich and a MnMs for like $4 USD. If you eat out at restaurants then expect to pay $5 - $15 per trip.
Effectively this is one of the cheapest places in the world to live. The only country I know that is cheaper is probably 2nd tier Ukraine like Lviv or Laos in South East Asia. But the special thing about Georgia is they will let you stay for a whole year and then you can do a border run to reset your 360 days.
Allegedly if you try Facebook or Real Estate websites then you should be able to get an apartment down to $350 a month (but after paying utilities it will be $400 a month if I had to guess).
There's no such thing as $200 or $300 apartments in Batumi's old town. The only realistic way you could get a place that cheap is living in the outskirts and I don't recommend it. My understanding is Batumi is more pricey than Tbilisi because Batumi is a huge tourism center.
Where to live in Batumi
The Piazza, Argo Cable Car, Art Musuem or across the street from the Alphabet Tower. The rest of Batumi is like an urban sprawl and the quality of restaurants / stores is lower outside of the old town.
If you have zero interest in restaurants / bars and just want to cook everything and be a shut-in then I would recommend living close to the Batumi mall for its' supermarket and 24 hour Gym.
Restaurants to go
Most Georgian restaurants are consistent in quality. Just be forewarned that the food is often oily, fried and over-seasoned. I often had high blood pressure after eating Georgian unless I ate something healthier like Lobio (Red Beans with Cornbrread). So if you do live here long term then I recommend to avoid Georgian restaurants and eat at places serving other cuisine (Bacio serves Italian, Restaurant Ukraine, et cetera).
Restaurants to avoid in Batumi: Georgians have a weird love fetish with German culture so you will find a lot of 'German Restaurants' in Batumi. The most famous being HB and Munich. I found the quality of the food to be really low (tough gamey meat), not authentic (as someone who has been to Germany 4 times) and overpriced. A lot of the negative reviews for these places point out the food quality issue but for every 1 negative review there's like 5 positive reviews (which makes me wonder if these restaurants are hiring marketing companies to pad up fake reviews).
Gyms in Batumi
There's a gym in the old town called Orbi Fitness Center but the hours are really weird (like often not open until 10 AM) and they charge like $45 USD a month. Which means if you live in the Old Town then you have a limited window to go to the Gym. Or you're forced to go to the 24 hour Gym in the Batumi mall (but this would require you to walk, take a taxi or drive).
Internet speed
I often get 20 mbps at most places (even in the evenings). I am actually amazed at this speed because internet providers in the United States and Canada seem to throttle their speed a lot. Someone from Europe or East Asia might think the internet is slow for them though.
Not much to do in Batumi
There's only 1 movie theater and it's tiny and only plays movies in Russian (meaning a lot of Georgian people can't watch movies there either!). The beach is just hard rocks and primarily middle age women & kids. No topless sunbathers I am afraid but I kind of half-expected that.
The 'Batumi Shopping Mall' is like 2 kilometers from the old town and inside it's pretty disappointing.
There's almost no women in the alcoholic nightlife. You do sometimes see them in big groups at the Piazza but from the looks of it they're with their family or on some kind of package tour group. So I often found myself (a bit frustrated) having to stay at home and then play computer games or Netflix.
English friendliness
Every waiter / waitress I've had in a restaurant, cafe or coffee house was capable of taking an order in English and responding back in broken English. Same with shopkeepers. So English here seems to be better than infamous areas of Europe like Italy or France. But even though there's fairly high rates of English the local Georgians won't be interested in you.
Xenophobia
I found Georgian people don't like westerners. Some cafes and restaurants I have been to 30 times and the staff haven't once asked me what country I am from, smiled or even tried small talk. So they have very little interest in outsiders even when you come from a nationality that is super rare in Georgia.
Cliquey
Not sure if it's me but EVERYONE in Batumi seems to be part of a group (and these groups are often 5 or so people). They're either going out with family, co-workers or they're on a package tour. I never see anyone alone in public unless they're a taxi driver or a shop keeper waiting for a customer. This strong cliqueyness reminds me more of Asia than American or Western European cultures.
Too many men *** IMPORTANT TO READ ****
For some reason there's too many men in Batumi! If I do a headcount in public then I often count 6 men for every woman. Sometimes 12 men for every woman! You almost never see women at restaurants, cafes or bars unless they work there.
I suspect this is because of the Casinos and Oil Jobs in Batumi (Las Vegas in America has more men than women. As do oil towns). Locals and expats also claim the Adjaran-Georgian culture encourages women to stay home all day.
I've never been anywhere in the world that was a sausage festival 24/7 like Batumi is.
Prostitution
Because there's too many men in Batumi this also attracts a ton of prostitutes. There's about 30 or so 'Thai Massage Parlors' that are mini-Asian brothels and they have fixed prices. Usually $28 for a hour massage + $20 for a handjob or $40 for sex (meaning $70 for sex if P2P is your thing).
Just for Turkish men and Georgian men but allegedly there's sauna prostitution networks where the women are really cheap but there's no information in English or Russian on how to access this. This might just be an urban legend or maybe it was true 10 years ago but the police have since shut it down.
Practically every nightclub attracts freelancers who charge $200 USD/hour. Which is a crazy high price because monthly incomes in Georgia is like $150 a month! Also before the US Government shut down Craigslist a lot of American Prostitutes were charging $150 - $200 on there (but in America incomes are much higher. So why the Georgian prostitutes in nightclubs are charging so much? Georgian men and Russian men are too poor to afford $200/hour. It's mysterious. Sometimes you see 10 prostitutes waiting for a customer because too high of a price means no man wants or is able to buy).
Tinder
Batumi has been the most disappointing place for Tinder in my entire life so far. I almost never get any matches even though a westerner is considered high value in other continents (see xenophobia). I've had a few matches that were actually prostitutes trying to get me as a customer.
I don't understand why a Georgian woman wants a Georgian man (they are very short and poor) but I guess they have a strong slut shaming culture or it is the xenophobia.
Even though there's some Russians / Ukrainians coming to Batumi ~ on Tinder they don't seem as easy as back in their homelands. I think it's because women within 12 hours of coming here get sexually harassed or approached by a stereotypical Turk / Georgian with rapist day game: "SEX IN MY CAR NOW" and then their bitch shield remains high forever.
Oddly Turkish women on Tinder seem to love me (I was surprised about this because of the bad reputation of Turkish women) but I often lose interest because they look really ugly on their Tinder profile.
In all ~ I was only able to get 2 dates off Tinder over 6 months and both women were obsessed in A) wanting to know how much money I make and B) how soon I can marry them (these aren't exaggerations)
Verdict
I already decided I will leave Georgia. I guess I have to come back in 2020 or 2021 to pick up a new bank card but that would just be a maximum 2 week trip. I would rather pay higher taxes or commit tax evasion in an Asian country than to waste anymore time of my life here (especially with the women situation).