Questions about Georgia (country)

[kogza]

Hello, really considering moving to Georgia for tax purposes but my main questions at the moment are about the life style there.

I understand its not Las Vegas or even switzerland but:

1. Are there any modern areas in Tbilisi with good building, neighborhoods, shopping areas,restaurants, gyms and so on?

2. Do you currently have to walk with mask on your face even in open streets?

3. Is there a single or multiple high quality private hospitals and/or clinics with high level of medicine practice?

4. Are gyms / swimming pools even open there and if yes how are they operating? You have to swim with a mask?

5. How is the post office quality there for international orders? Will I get my orders or is there a chance they will get stolen?

6. Do people working in shops, government offices speak English at all?

7. Are there many coffee shops/restaurants in Tbilisi?

Thanks in advance for the help

 

[khinkali]

I suggest looking into Vake and Saburtalo. Rustaveli and Marjianishvili are lively but Vake is quieter and more upmarket. I think that by "good building" you might mean modern, when it comes to Georgia. There are superb older buildings but they might not have the amenities you want. There are occasional water and electricity outages, but water is almost always back within 24 hours and electricity faster.

High quality healthcare is in the eye of the beholder. Medical care is inexpensive, but if you have exotic needs I don't think you'd find the equipment you'd get in Singapore or USA.

Georgia has relaxed a lot of things (e.g. restaurants indoors, cinema) but masks are still a thing. Also 11pm curfew. I don't know about gyms but I'm fairly sure you don't have to swim with a mask.

Postal service is different from most places. There isn't routine postal delivery, businesses get a PO box with delivery to their address. Typically you have mail sent to a local post office for collection (just show id). There are also good commercial services for deliveries from US, UK, DE etc. such as USA2Georgia.

Petty crime is very rare in Georgia. Your orders are much less likely to be stolen than in London, for example.

A lot of younger people speak some English, but not always conversational. In Vake, Saburtalo or Rustaveli you're more likely to encounter English speakers in shops. You're recommended to take a translator to government offices but there are plenty of fluent English speaking accountants, lawyers, business advisors, etc.

There are very many coffee shops/restaurants in Tbilisi. Georgian service is a little different though.

Having moved from Thailand to Georgia I can tell you that it's hard to predict who will love, or hate, living in each country (and culture). I strongly advise taking a vacation to wander around, visit shops, see if you like the atmosphere.

 

[AMD]

Op if you consider to setup something in Georgia I would recommend you to check this interview (need mentor group gold access) -
https://www.offshorecorptalk.com/forums/mentor-group-gold-exclusive.68/
This guy has helped me out with the complete setup, company, bank account etc. still it is working well.

 

[kogza]

I suggest looking into Vake and Saburtalo. Rustaveli and Marjianishvili are lively but Vake is quieter and more upmarket. I think that by "good building" you might mean modern, when it comes to Georgia. There are superb older buildings but they might not have the amenities you want. There are occasional water and electricity outages, but water is almost always back within 24 hours and electricity faster.

High quality healthcare is in the eye of the beholder. Medical care is inexpensive, but if you have exotic needs I don't think you'd find the equipment you'd get in Singapore or USA.

Georgia has relaxed a lot of things (e.g. restaurants indoors, cinema) but masks are still a thing. Also 11pm curfew. I don't know about gyms but I'm fairly sure you don't have to swim with a mask.

Postal service is different from most places. There isn't routine postal delivery, businesses get a PO box with delivery to their address. Typically you have mail sent to a local post office for collection (just show id). There are also good commercial services for deliveries from US, UK, DE etc. such as USA2Georgia.

Petty crime is very rare in Georgia. Your orders are much less likely to be stolen than in London, for example.

A lot of younger people speak some English, but not always conversational. In Vake, Saburtalo or Rustaveli you're more likely to encounter English speakers in shops. You're recommended to take a translator to government offices but there are plenty of fluent English speaking accountants, lawyers, business advisors, etc.

There are very many coffee shops/restaurants in Tbilisi. Georgian service is a little different though.

Having moved from Thailand to Georgia I can tell you that it's hard to predict who will love, or hate, living in each country (and culture). I strongly advise taking a vacation to wander around, visit shops, see if you like the atmosphere.

I appreciate you taken the time to answer.
Have you ever been to Kyiv, Ukraine? If yes. How would you compare the 2? Same style or Tbilisi is like kyiv 30 years ago?

 

[backpacker]

moving to Georgia for tax purposes

Evaluate your personal situation with great care. You wouldn't be the first who gets disappointed once settled.

3. Is there a single or multiple high quality private hospitals and/or clinics with high level of medicine practice?

No, not even a single high quality hospital.
To rely on medical treatment abroad is like lottery. What do you do if borders are closed like it just happened to be for several months during COVID? That said, in case you require regular medical treatment on a serious level you should not even consider moving to Georgia.

5. How is the post office quality there for international orders? Will I get my orders or is there a chance they will get stolen?

If you rely on the official government run Georgian Post you need to be VERY patient. And queues at the post office to receive your package (you always have to go there personally n order to receive it) can be daunting.

 

[backpacker]

Same style or Tbilisi is like kyiv 30 years ago?

No, you can not compare the two places. They are both former Soviet republics and that's where similarities end.

Before you plan any further, come here for two weeks and rent a flat in a regular apartment building in Isani or Varketili (both are non-affluent districts without upmarketed western nonsense). It won't help if you only stay were expats and rich locals hang out.
You can use that time to talk to tax advisor, to plan your immigration procedure and to look for a long-term lease.

 

[kogza]

Evaluate your personal situation with great care. You wouldn't be the first who gets disappointed once settled.

No, not even a single high quality hospital.
To rely on medical treatment abroad is like lottery. What do you do if borders are closed like it just happened to be for several months during COVID? That said, in case you require regular medical treatment on a serious level you should not even consider moving to Georgia.

If you rely on the official government run Georgian Post you need to be VERY patient. And queues at the post office to receive your package (you always have to go there personally n order to receive it) can be daunting.

About the hospitals, in Ukraine for example hospitals are not great but there are many private clinics which are great and at very low costs.

About people who moved to Georgia and got disappointed by the tax system, any examples to what exactly you mean because it seems pretty straight forward if your work fits their pre defined categories.

 

[kogza]

No, you can not compare the two places. They are both former Soviet republics and that's where similarities end.

Before you plan any further, come here for two weeks and rent a flat in a regular apartment building in Isani or Varketili (both are non-affluent districts without upmarketed western nonsense). It won't help if you only stay were expats and rich locals hang out.
You can use that time to talk to tax advisor, to plan your immigration procedure and to look for a long-term lease.

Its exactly what I'm about to do anyway, but the reason of this post is to hear personal experiences and opinions of people who are there now and already have their own perspective.

 

[khinkali]

I haven't been to Kyiv but if you speak Russian and English then you should be able to converse with most people in Tbilisi. Quite a lot of taxi drivers also speak German; I think East German universities were quite popular in 70s and 80s.

 

[backpacker]

About people who moved to Georgia and got disappointed by the tax system, any examples to what exactly you mean because it seems pretty straight forward if your work fits their pre defined categories.

If you study these two threads from A to Z you get an overview:
https://www.offshorecorptalk.com/threads/cfc-rules-in-georgia.33626/and
https://www.offshorecorptalk.com/threads/georgian-otc-crypto-sales.34066
The tax system is not as straight forward as it seems! Even if you think that you fit in a pre-defined category does not mean that the taxman is of the same opinion.
Add to it what I mentioned here over and over (= the legal system of Georgia is immature at best) and you have a pretty explosive cocktail.
As long as you are here as a retiree, live off interest which you generate from a local Georgian bank account and you do not transfer large amounts while being a tax resident - no problem. The same is valid in case you are legally employed by a local company - your employer will be the tax agent which means you won't have to bother.
However, for getting involved in any entrepreneurial business activity I would have better jurisdictions in mind.

Hospitals: Had to use one facility in Ukraine for a minor issue and it was not bad. That was 16 years ago and it was about the same standard I see today in Georgia. So, there is a subjective development gap of 16 years.
There is a reason why Georgians flock to Turkey when they have major medical issues. Works fine, except when borders are closed. So, again, if you need regular medical treatment better think twice about where to relocate.