Almost every client asks the same question once tax is settled: Tbilisi or Batumi? They are very different places, and the honest answer is that many people end up using both.
Tbilisi: the working city
Tbilisi is dense, walkable in patches and vertical everywhere else. It has the business community, the banks, the accountants, the coworking spaces and the majority of the international crowd. It also has the food, the wine bars, the galleries and a nightlife scene with a genuine international reputation.
The downsides are real: traffic, air quality on bad days, and building stock that ranges from beautifully restored to structurally alarming within the same street.
Batumi: the coastal city
Batumi is subtropical, sits on the Black Sea and moves at a different speed. Seafront apartments are generally cheaper than central Tbilisi, the promenade is genuinely pleasant, and summer is busy with festivals and visitors.
Winter is quieter and wetter, and the professional community is smaller. Anyone whose work depends on being in rooms with other founders tends to keep a Tbilisi base.
The split-year approach
A common pattern is Tbilisi for the working months and Batumi from late spring, or the reverse for anyone who dislikes the summer heat in the capital. Domestic flights and the train make this straightforward.
- Tbilisi for network, services and infrastructure
- Batumi for sea, space and lower rent
- Mountains reachable from both
- Day counting still matters if you want Georgian tax residency
This website provides general information and illustrative modelling only. It is not tax, legal or financial advice. Tax treatment depends on individual circumstances, business activity, tax residence, income source, foreign tax rules, citizenship and existing corporate structures. Specialist advice is provided or reviewed by appropriate professionals.