2.33/5
931 reviews
Photo by Denis Arslanbekov via Unsplash

Tbilisi

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great

food

good

quality

prices

cheap

country

easy

love

english

nature

parks

russians

visa

cafes

hard

restaurants

Tbilisi is a popular destination for digital nomads and expats, offering good food, relaxed visa policies, and easy access to nature. The country’s 365-day visa and 1% freelancer tax are often cited as major perks. The city also has a growing nomad/expat community and can serve as a stable base for regional travel. It's considered a good spot for hikers and those who enjoy nightlife or unique post-Soviet charm. Historically cheap, Tbilisi was once an excellent value, but many now report a steep rise in living costs, especially after 2022. Rents, restaurants, and everyday goods can now rival or exceed prices in parts of Europe without matching quality. Service levels, infrastructure (sidewalks, public transport, road safety), and general cleanliness are recurring complaints. Many also mention unfriendly or inconsistent behavior from locals, especially toward Russian speakers, due to geopolitical tensions. Language barriers persist, especially outside tourist zones. The food is often described as heavy and repetitive, with poor international cuisine options. Though the capital can feel chaotic and abrasive, the surrounding nature and other Georgian cities offer a better experience for some. Many recommend short stays over long-term living.

AI-generated summary of reviews
4 months ago

Do you like techno? Do you like hiking? Then you'll love Tbilisi!
I found Tbilisi a bit disorienting at first - but grew to love it in 1 month. It's a great base for exploring Georgia, which has a lot to see and do, and Georgia can be a pretty advantageous place to base yourself as a nomad. The quality of life is high for the price, and there is a good mix of very hip and trendy and cozy but slightly crap post-Soviet vibes.
One should note that it has become to Russians what Mexico City is to Americans - newbie nomad destination #1, and given the political tensions between the two countries, it can get awkward. Many nomad/expat groups are majority Russian (and therefore Russian-language) though everyone under 35 here speaks English. Georgians can be a bit insular, so it may not be so easy to make local friends (young professionals who aren't Georgian tend to leave for higher salaries elsewhere) but there is definitely a good chance to meet people from around the world.

4 months ago

I really liked Tbilisi for the month I was there and hope to return. The visa is very good at 6months and potential for 1 year. Great food, cool city, cool architecture and quite a lot to do/see! There are quite a few nomad/expat groups. Only downside is the terrible traffic and infrastructure with no sidewalks or crosswalks sometimes - it's probably the worst I've seen. Also, cafes are very small and it can be hard to find reliable wifi in cafes or places for outlets in cafes. My airbnb wifi was strong. I spent about $30 a day not including accomodation so prices are a bit high. Highly recommend.

1 year ago

Great city for living. Yes, the prices now are higher and there is a lot of Russian, but city is peacfull and general safe. A lot of restaurants and bars. It is not like Europe, but has it own charm. For me a lot better place then their Yerevan or Baku. The nature is also great.

1 year ago

Overall, highly recommnded for the fall/spring. Great weather, food, wines and hikes.
There are really nice coffeshops (currently writing from one, "The coffee place").
Internet is Ok, but check the accommodation before.

Right now there is a lot of anti-sentiment for Russia, so consider that if you're from there.

2 years ago

Highly overrated place.

It's an old town with a lot of graffiti and Ukrainian flags and graffiti about Russians, how they hate Russians, and how they support Ukraine.

It smells terrible, people don't speak English, and it's pretty dangerous at night because many drunk Georgians are walking outside.

They drink wine every day, and the people are lazy. They enjoy life.

They smoke a lot, taxi cars are bad, the airport is terrible, and people are not friendly.

I don't see any reason to visit Tbilisi, people are going there to save a few bucks, but it's not worth it.

I planned to stay longer but left the city after four days.

3 years ago

Gorgeous city with kind people. But since March 2022 prices have increased substantially. Now Tbilisi is more expensive than many European cities. Georgia is a very family oriented and traditional society.

3 years ago

The city is quite pleasant. There are some good streets to walk. It never feels crowded, except the most touristic areas.
Architecture is interesting (but nothing to write home about) in a small touristic area, outside of it it's mostly ugly Soviet-era apartment blocks and ramshackle small houses.
A couple of years ago the city was cheap, but now it's more expensive than many European cities and Asian capitals.
When it was cheap, it was nice to stay there despite its drawbacks. Now it is very questionable.
Drawbacks:
- locals are somewhat unfriendly, nationalistic to quite high degree
- they can either love you or hate you for nothing, and it happens in seconds
- they drive like hell
- food is the same in most places (though tasty)
- low quality of everything: service, accomodations, goods etc. I'd say asian quality at european prices.
I also didn't find the nature around Tbilisi particularly exciting. There is some beautiful nature in the country but it's far away from the capital.

3 years ago

I found the city dirty, covered in Graffiti, and sort of boring. At first glance the architecture seemed cool, but after a couple days it didn't impress me. The city is really not pedestrian friendly with long stretches where you can't cross the roads unless you walk half a kilometer to the underground passages. The food is quite boring unless you love fried bread, and the restaurant scene didn't seem great. I'm not sure why people rave about it. I left after a week and went to the mountains. I love the mountains of Georgia. Kutaisi is not far away either, and it's a much nicer city imo.

3 years ago

I have just finished one month in Tbilisi. September 2022. The prices of everything are 20-50% more than in Europe. Accommodations, restaurants, and clothes are low in quality (imports from Europe that just have not been sold in their shops). It was my second to last night, and I visited a local restaurant and paid 500 lari for two steaks, frozen potatoes, and vegetables which were a mix of overcooked and perfectly cooked. A bottle of wine and a bottle of water. I could get 100x better at half the price on 90% of European restaurants, even the bad-tuirist ones. I have visited the north of Georgia and the south. The country feels safe if you avoid cars on the streets and are careful when driving. There is no reason to live in Georgia; as the Nomad Capitalist wisely says, go where you are treated best, and the best of Georgia is not the best you deserve. I am leaving feeling insulted by the exploitation. I leave it in the hands of the many Russians entering the country to escape their dictator.

3 years ago

I think your prices are a little high or overboard. You must be doing the highest quality places in the country because I have lived there for a lot cheaper than what you advertise here and you can live there for about 700 a month if you look around 1000 to 2000 is a little high price unless you want top line hotel or apartment

3 years ago

I lived in Tbilisi for a year from August 2021 to August 2022. I had high hopes for it since I heard a lot of glowing reviews of it. When I came prices for rentals were quite reasonable and I was able to get a lovely one-bedroom in an upscale neighbourhood for just 380 usd. Since, the war, prices have skyrocketed up to what one would expect to pay in a central Europe and even beyond. The quality of life hasn't increase in tandem with the prices, so I no longer felt it was a good deal. As a non-drinker, non-smoker, I felt it was hard to fit in socially. As a foodie, I was woefully disappointed. The food was heavy and basically the same in every restaurant, and the international fare was abysmal. I didn't like the fashion choices either for the most part. It was hard to find good quality goods in general. English is not widely spoken, but I could get by using my Russian; however, my English speaking friends had a hard time communicating. The level of service in most places is lacking. There is a lot of lovely nature though ,which is a plus. If you are a hiker, this place will be paradise to you. Most of the cultural events such as plays and concerts are in Georgian, so I was quite bored for most of my time there. The banking is great and it is easy to make this your base. After my experience there, I didn't feel I wanted to do that, but this place might appeal to you if you are into the outdoors, drinking, and heavy/ hearty food.

3 years ago

As an expat, be prepared to hear “this is normal in Georgia” every time something goes wrong. No one is in a hurry to fix anything - from broken lift in the building (I even got stuck once on a Sunday night and was told “maybe someone will come tomorrow to free you”! - had to break out myself) to your wifi (stopped working for almost 2 weeks, not until we threatened to change companies that they decided to send a technician). We didn’t find it very friendly. People don’t smile, staff in stores are surly and unhelpful. The taxi drivers are the worst in the world (including Uber). Utter maniacs. The cost of living has risen steeply because of inflation. People also constantly thought we were Russian and we got yelled at several times by locals who don’t want Russians around (for obvious reasons). Overall, it’s not the most pleasant place to be an expat. However, the food is delicious (if heavy), the scenery is gorgeous. The mobile data is cheap, but groceries ans eating out is more expensive than we expected. I’d recommend it for a month or two, but no more.

3 years ago

Amazing city and underrated so far. But it'll become very popular at some point so take a chance to visit now.
Amazing people, great and unique food, incredible nature, one f the biggest visa permits (365 days). On top of that you can open the company and pay 1% income tax as a freelancer.

4 years ago

A good place for adventurous young types who enjoy their youth and want to date, meet other expats, etc. We didn’t enjoy it as a young family though. Streets are unbearable for a stroller and the cost of living isn’t that great if you want to live a proper lifestyle.

4 years ago

Looking for an estate agency in Tbilisi? Don't use Remax. We rented via Remax an apartment in upper Vake. Since we live here, we didn't have one quiet day. There are six days a week renovations INSIDE the building. We know that this can be the case in Tbilisi. Owners renovate in the summer. Some flats are strict about this, and other ones are not. We asked the agent of Remax to check this. She said she did, and there were no renovations planned for this summer. But obviously, this is not true. We live here now for 1 month, and almost every day there is noise from drilling.

4 years ago

Tbilisi is a beautiful place to be at. It is really cheap and nice. People are warm and welcoming, even though they are more friendly in the villages. It is a really cool place with many shops to buy things at that is well located. Also, you can get pretty quickly to nature.

5 years ago

We had some crazy situations with apartments scam - so please everyone be aware, that there are people pretending an RE agent. Always do a checkup of a realtor you are contacting. And the statement below that georgian people like to be 'dramatic'. Never experienced so much drama in my life, as from georgian landlords during 6 months of staying in Tbilisi ;)

I disagree with one of the reviews that Tbilisi has no parks. Actually it's super ridiculous thing to say about Tbilisi! The city has plenty of green spaces (Vera Park, Mtatsminda mountain, Turtle Lisi Lake and magical Mziuri and don't forget to mention Vake, where you can climb up the hill and you feel like you just transported yourself outside of the city in ~5mins ). Actually PARKS are my favourite in Tbilisi - because of them, as well as big sidewalks to walk (unseen in Chiang Mai for sure). Person who wrote about the lack of parks had to live on the wrong side of the river - only go for districst like Vera, Vake, Saburtalo and there the choice of parks is broad.

What I didn't like about Tbilisi? I confirm that locals are unfriendly. City is very noisy (drivers are agressive, have no respect to pedestrians and beep a lot).

Georgian goverment wants foreigners in their country so badly but locals mentality (very post soviet one) is not ready. They only want to get your money and the best would be if you dissapear just afterwards.

Also you will have hard time to eat out as vegeterian - vegan. Places fully "green" are just a few. In other spots you can eat salads/chaciapuri which is cheese + carbs (for a vegan stays cucumber tomato salad - i wish you luck getting full with it :D).

5 years ago

I've been living in Tbilisi for 7 months.
The most surprising thing about the city was the welcoming expat community which is larger than I expected. Quality, well travelled people that are generally older (30's+). I met many good friends in a very short period of time.
The downtown area of the city is not ideal and can be noisy and polluted but the suburbs (only a 10min cab ride away), especially upscale Vake, is a better option in my opinion. It has a large beautiful park, lovely shops, restaurants and bars. Rent here is still quite cheap. All apartments are rented out fully furnished. You can get a nice large flat for as low as 200usd but 400 will get you a large modern flat.
Internet is very fast, up to 100mbps for about 30usd per month.
There are also many international restaurants but you may not find it as authentic as in other major cities.
Locals are not friendly generally speaking except in the villages. Communication in English can be difficult but not impossible.
Settling here for short or longer term is very easy, you can open a bank account and work legally on your visa on arrival.
Banks like Bank of Georgia offer savings accounts for 3 months in the local currency with an 11.5% interest rate!
Safety is not an issue for most unless you go to the dodgier bars but at most they will rip you off. As a woman I feel totally safe night and day.
Drivers are aggressive but taxi's are cheaper than anywhere I've ever been to (about 2usd for a 15 minute ride) which you can get quickly and easily on Bolt or Yandex apps.
Overall cost of living is very cheap. You can easily live on less than 1000usd per month and still go out and have fun.
Also the country has handled covid very well and is one of the best countries to ride out the wave, everything is nearly back to normal, borders still closed in mid June.
Weather is mild, even in winter it's not too bad, heating and air-conditioning works well.
I really like it here!

6 years ago

I've lived in Tbilisi for one month. In short: the foundations are here for a great and low cost place to work. But the city lacks liveability (parks, healthy food, noisy, polluted).

The pro's: It is easy to get a visa, has a growing expat community, easy to arrange mobile plan, gym, housing, etc and its all super cheap. Its perfect for bootstrapping and costwise even on par with Chiang Mai. Its also easy to take trips to the mountains and Armenia and taxi's itself are incredibly cheap. The city has a growing number of gems to eat, shop and drink.

Even though all the pro's above I personally wouldn't return. Besides expats it was difficult to make connections. The locals can be rude at times and love being dramatic and driving illogically big SUV's. The city was noisy, dirty and it was difficult finding places to run or relax since parks are non-existent and streets are in bad shape. Cheese, meat and wine sounds great at first but it gets boring real fast and it was difficult to eat healthy.

6 years ago

I've lived in Tbilisi for three months. I started in Kutaisi (fly cheaply to Kutaisi with WizzAir) for a few days before hiking through the Svaneti region for four days. Highly recommend getting to the Caucasus!

If you're looking to bootstrap while you retrain yourself or start your online business, then Tbilisi is a great option. I've spent less in Tbilisi than I did in Chiang Mai. They speak better English than what some may suggest. I've gotten the wrong order a few times, but other than that, I have not had a problem with communicating. Internet is copious. I recommend Hurma and Althaus Tea Room for a couple great cafes to work from.

I found Georgians to be rather unfriendly, and it was difficult to make any local friends. Tbilisi is the worst city for gay life that I have ever been to, so if you're LGBT then don't expect much. On the other hand, Tbilisi is exceptionally safe. I walked home alone from the bar at 3 AM on several occasions and never felt any unease. Ohh, and the drivers in Tbilisi are aggressive, and the cars approach pedestrians too closely. Lastly, Georgian ATMs do not charge a fee and the exchange rates are at market rate. So with my Schwab account, I was able to pull money out completely free. Good and bad as with any city, but I will definitely return to Tbilisi, especially with the 1 year tourist visa and Ryan Air's new routes in Tbilisi.

6 years ago

Lived here for 3 months. Fantastic. Special mentions to Rooms Hotel for the best late-night coding and coffee lounge, Urban Garden for best reasonably-priced gym, Restaurant Tiflis (by the bridge), Duqani, Shatre, and Machahkela resturant chain for inexpensive but great food, and Skola Coffee + Book Corner Cafe (opposite Restaurant Tiflis) for best daytime cafes you can work at. Best ice cream (by FAR): The Cone Culture.

Georgians are very friendly and hospitable. It's also the first ex-Soviet country to legalise 🍁, if you're that way inclined (you'll find Georgians willing to share nearly everywhere.)

However it's an Eastern European country and still poor, you gotta be careful.

I recommend you open a local bank account with TBC Bank (very easy process) and then use Transferwise to exchange into GEL.

(connect with me: scaur.nz)

7 years ago

✅ Friendly people

✅ Great nature and hiking

✅ Good food

✅ Visa flexibility

✅ Affordable (historically)

✅ Good base for nomads

✅ Very safe

✅ Fast internet

✅ Perfect humidity now

✅ Many Nomads.com members here all year round

✅ Spacious and not crowded

✅ Very easy to do business

✅ High quality of education

✅ Good hospitals

✅ Roads are pretty safe

✅ Freedom of speech

✅ Safe for women

✅ (Medical) marijuana MAY be legal, unenforced or decriminalized (always double check this)

❌ Rising cost of living

❌ Poor infrastructure (traffic, roads, crosswalks)

❌ Unfriendly service and locals

❌ Low quality goods/services

❌ Loud city (construction, traffic, nightlife noise)

❌ Limited cultural/language accessibility

❌ Not very democratic

❌ Not much to do

❌ Cold now

❌ Gets cold in the winter

❌ Bad air quality year round

❌ Nomads.com members didn't like going here

❌ People don't speak English well

❌ Not family friendly

❌ Hostile towards LGBTQ+

❌ Many people smoke tobacco

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Feels (median)

2°C / 36°F cold

6°C / 43°F cold

3°C / 37°F cold

14°C / 57°F cool

15°C / 59°F cool

22°C / 72°F mild

24°C / 75°F warm

28°C / 82°F warm

20°C / 68°F mild

11°C / 52°F cool

9°C / 48°F cold

3°C / 37°F cold

Real (median)

2°C / 36°F
very cold

6°C / 43°F
very cold

4°C / 39°F
very cold

14°C / 57°F
cool

15°C / 58°F
cool

22°C / 72°F
mild

24°C / 75°F
warm

28°C / 82°F
very warm

20°C / 68°F
mild

11°C / 52°F
cool

9°C / 48°F
cold

3°C / 37°F
very cold

Humidity

nice
60%

nice
55%

nice
59%

nice
64%

nice
63%

nice
58%

nice
61%

nice
50%

nice
65%

nice
69%

nice
63%

nice
55%

Most common

☀️ Clear

☔️ Rain

☀️ Clear

☔️ Rain

☀️ Clear

Rain

dry
15mm

dry
35mm

dry
45mm

rainy
97mm

dry
47mm

rainy
52mm

rainy
51mm

dry
20mm

rainy
54mm

rainy
69mm

dry
19mm

dry
10mm

Cloud

pockets
32%

pockets
35%

pockets
43%

pockets
40%

pockets
32%

pockets
29%

pockets
27%

pockets
35%

pockets
33%

pockets
37%

pockets
32%

Air quality

okay
59 US AQI

bad
150 US AQI

bad
150* US AQI

bad
109 US AQI

Sun

safe
2 UVI

seek shade
3 UVI

seek shade
5 UVI

avoid sun
8 UVI

avoid sun
9 UVI

avoid sun
8 UVI

avoid sun
6 UVI

seek shade
3 UVI

safe
2 UVI

safe
1 UVI

Remote workers

1,900 people

1,620 people

2,673 people

2,900 people

2,927 people

3,309 people

3,582 people

2,520 people

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2,514 people

1,677 people

2,378 people

Green is good. Red is bad. Values shown are the medians of all daily highs in a month based on past few years, not necessarily current numbers. Remote worker count is estimated based on the total amount of trips logged by Nomads.com members.

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🌦 Feels 9° 48° 9° 49° AQI 80 😷

✈️3h

$2,925 / mo

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Members who have been here

Values shown are estimated visits by traveling remote workers based on the total amount of trips logged by Nomads.com members. Visits to a place are only counted once per year per user, even if they visit more in that year. Visits are also normalized by overall trips added per month on the site, so if site usage goes up or down it does not affect trends. Not all digital nomads are on Nomads.com, and not all Nomads.com members log their trips. So the data is only indicative.

The chart below shows visitors by nationality normalized for population size. This means we take all trips logged on Nomads.com, check which country of origin the user is from, then divide that total visit count by the country of origin's population. If we didn't, it'd just show the big countries like US, Brazil and India always on top. Instead, this shows which nationalities worldwide proportionally visit more or less, which is more useful.

⭐️ Total score	2.33/5 (Rank #46) 931 reviews
❤️ Liked by members	👍20 liked it 👎10 disliked it
👍 Quality of life score	Okay
👶 Family score	Okay
🎒 Community score	Okay
💵 Cost	😙 Affordable: $2,191 / mo
📡 Internet	😡 Slow: 15 Mbps (avg)
😝 Fun	Okay
⛅️ Temperature (now)	🥶 Too cold: 8°C47°F (feels 7°C45°F)
💦 Humidity (now)	😊 Comfy: 63%
💨 Air quality (now)	😷 Unhealthy for some: 112 US AQI
💨 Air quality (annual)	😷 Unhealthy for some: 150 US AQI
👌 Safety	Good
👩 Safe for women	Okay
🌈 Safe for LGBTQ+	Bad
🤮 Food safety*	Good
👮‍♀️ Lack of crime*	Good
🤝 Lack of racism*	Bad
🎓 Education level*	High
⚡️ Power grid	Great
🌊 Vulnerability to climate change	Okay
💰 Income level*	Very low: $304 / mo
🙊 English speaking*	Bad
🚶 Walkability	Great
🚦 Traffic safety*	Okay
✈️ Airline scores*	Great
🧳 Lost luggage*	Great
🏥 Hospitals	Good
😄 Happiness*	Bad
🍸 Nightlife	Bad
📶 Free WiFi in city	Okay
🖥 Places to work from	Great
❄️ A/C or heating	Bad
😁 Friendly to foreigners	Great
🗯 Freedom of speech*	Good
🎅 Startup Score	Bad

🌍 Continent	Europe
🚩 Country	Georgia
🗓️ Average trip length	22 days
📡 Internet speed (avg)	15 Mbps
⛅️ Weather (now)	🌥 8°C 47°F + 😊 Comfy (63%) = feels 7°C 45°F
💨 Air quality (now)	👎😷 112 US AQI = 🚬 / day
💨 Air quality (annual avg)	👎☠️ 150 US AQI = 🚬 🚬 / day
🔌 Power	230V 50Hz
🚕 Best taxi app*	Bolt
🚑 Travel medical insurance	Safetywing
💸 10 GEL in USD	USD 3.71
🏧 Suggested ATM take out:	GEL 1,000 = USD 371
💳 Cashless	💳 Yes, cards OK almost everywhere
💻 Best coworking space	Cospot
🏪 Best 24/7 coffee place	Le Biscuit
🚰 Tap water	🚫 No, not drinkable
♻️ Return rate	👍17% of visitors return
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Population	1,100,000 people
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 GDP per capita*	$3,651 / year
👫 Gender ratio (population)	👨 41% 👱‍♀️ 59%
👫 Gender ratio (young adults)	👨 55% 👱‍♀️ 45%
👫 Gender ratio (nomads)	👨 84% 👱‍♀️ 16%
🏞 Foreign land ownership allowed	Yes
⛪️ Religious government	Non-religious
🏠 Apartment listings	Airbnb
✈️ Best int'l air carrier	Qatar

💵 Cost of living for nomad	$2,191 / month
💵 Cost of living for expat	$1,585 / month
💵 Cost of living for family	$3,547 / month
💵 Cost of living for local	$1,013 / month
🏨 Hotel (median price)	$848 / month
🏡 Airbnb (median price)	$1,575 / month
🏠 1br studio rent in center	$834 / month
🏠 Median home price	$63,080
🏨 Hotel (median price)	$40 / night
🏠 Airbnb (median price)	$52 / night
🏢 Coworking hot desk	$110 / month
🍛 Dinner	$11
🥤 Coca-Cola (0.3L)	$1
🍺 Beer in cafe (0.5L)	$1
☕️ Coffee in cafe	$3
👩‍🏫 International school	$5,057 / year
📱 Mobile data (~10GB)	$9 / month
🚕 Taxi price (avg trip ~3km/2mi)	$3 / trip