Spent three months working in Tbilsi, have to say of all the cities i've lived in abroad, it is my LEAST favourite by a distance.
1) The air quality is terrible. It is verging on gridlocked at various points of the day, with shitty old soviet motors polluting the shit out of the air. Factor in the geography of the area (it is shrouded by a mountain, and rarely gets much breeze, this air just sits all day.
2) Has to be the least friendly or warm place in europe, hands down. bordering on hostile. They drive like absolute psychos, never slowing down if you are crossing the road, even at times speeding up to prove a point.
3)It is incredibly rare to get any kind of banter going with staff in cafes or bars. They are just brutally cold as standard. Also, and this is a major bug-bear of mine, you will find people regularly trying to jump the queues in shops. I can not and never will just stand there while someone does this, and on two occassions got into arguments (both times with people who seemingly didnt speak english, but i made my feelings know regardless). This might sound uptight, but i regard a society that does not respect queuing, as ultimately wildly inferior. It reveals a lack of care for social order, others and general courtesy.
4) The much vaunted nightlife there, as far as i could ascertain, was riddled with scams and corruption. I heard a lot of stuff about mafia scams, quite sophisticated honey-trapping (girls who will be receptive to lone foreigners, have drinks, then suggest another bar, where you'll be presented with a ludicrous bill).
5) The women there are reasonably attractive for EE standards. One notch down from the Slavic countries, for my tastes, but attractive enough. Few stunners, but a lot of solidly attractive girls. However i did not find them friendly or particulary receptive to foreigners.
6) Hardly any greenery or parks, or wide open spaces anywhere.
It's a real shame, as i have a lot of respect for their history, their churches and strength of their nationalist ideals, but for me, i found the place fundamentally unpleasant. On the plus side it is cheap. But it is also filled with a lot of shifty expats, people from dodgy countries (subjective i know, but seemed quite a lot of Arabs and Steppe types knocking about, as well as the more douchey expats that cant get visas or work teaching english flock there).
Have to say that in a decade and living in around 10 different cities across Europe, Tbilsi is clear worst for me. Directly after i spent 6 weeks in Yerevan, which was far nicer. More chilled, friendlier, nicer spaces in the centre and just all round more civilised. Probably not much going on there to keep you (women were a notch down sadly), but just a far nicer culture it seemed to me.
1) The air quality is terrible. It is verging on gridlocked at various points of the day, with shitty old soviet motors polluting the shit out of the air. Factor in the geography of the area (it is shrouded by a mountain, and rarely gets much breeze, this air just sits all day.
2) Has to be the least friendly or warm place in europe, hands down. bordering on hostile. They drive like absolute psychos, never slowing down if you are crossing the road, even at times speeding up to prove a point.
3)It is incredibly rare to get any kind of banter going with staff in cafes or bars. They are just brutally cold as standard. Also, and this is a major bug-bear of mine, you will find people regularly trying to jump the queues in shops. I can not and never will just stand there while someone does this, and on two occassions got into arguments (both times with people who seemingly didnt speak english, but i made my feelings know regardless). This might sound uptight, but i regard a society that does not respect queuing, as ultimately wildly inferior. It reveals a lack of care for social order, others and general courtesy.
4) The much vaunted nightlife there, as far as i could ascertain, was riddled with scams and corruption. I heard a lot of stuff about mafia scams, quite sophisticated honey-trapping (girls who will be receptive to lone foreigners, have drinks, then suggest another bar, where you'll be presented with a ludicrous bill).
5) The women there are reasonably attractive for EE standards. One notch down from the Slavic countries, for my tastes, but attractive enough. Few stunners, but a lot of solidly attractive girls. However i did not find them friendly or particulary receptive to foreigners.
6) Hardly any greenery or parks, or wide open spaces anywhere.
It's a real shame, as i have a lot of respect for their history, their churches and strength of their nationalist ideals, but for me, i found the place fundamentally unpleasant. On the plus side it is cheap. But it is also filled with a lot of shifty expats, people from dodgy countries (subjective i know, but seemed quite a lot of Arabs and Steppe types knocking about, as well as the more douchey expats that cant get visas or work teaching english flock there).
Have to say that in a decade and living in around 10 different cities across Europe, Tbilsi is clear worst for me. Directly after i spent 6 weeks in Yerevan, which was far nicer. More chilled, friendlier, nicer spaces in the centre and just all round more civilised. Probably not much going on there to keep you (women were a notch down sadly), but just a far nicer culture it seemed to me.