Living in Georgia: A First-Hand Guide

 

When I decided to move to Georgia I stumbled upon many videos describing what’s like to live in the country. Almost 100% of travelers who wrote about it were/are tourists during their travels. Their articles helped me a lot, but there were a few points that could only be clarified by someone who had actually lived everyday life there.

My goal with this article is to make a more comprehensive guide on Georgia, especially for those who want to spend a longer time in the country, whether living or on an extended visit.

It is important to emphasize at the beginning of the text: all the views expressed here are those of a Brazilian foreigner who lived for 4 months in Tbilisi. Obviously, they are also personal thoughts and may not represent the opinions of all foreigners in the country.

It Is Not Georgia USA!

Georgia (or Sakartvelo, which meaning Land of the Kartvelians) is a country of ancient culture situated in the Caucasus region bordering Russia, Turkey, Armenia and Azerbaijan. The country is composed of 10 districts plus 2 considered (not by Georgia) autonomous republics (Abkhazia and Samachablo/South Ossetia). By the way, don’t tell a Georgian these regions are independent countries.

It was one of the first countries to adopt Christianity and this is reflected in the countless cathedrals and centuries-old churches scattered throughout the country, some of them are even millennia old.

I will not say a lot here on the geographic, cultural and demographic characteristics of the country since this can be found even on Wikipedia and in this video. What is important to know is that Georgia is a poor country, where the average monthly income (mainly in the countryside) is very low, even compared to Brazil (my home country) and it’s a country that has just emerged from an era of difficulties under the banner of the USSR, but in frank reconstruction and evolution.

How To Get To Tbilisi

Being the capital and the most popular of all places to visit in Georgia, Tbilisi is accessible by daily flights departing from Kiev, Istanbul and other major cities in Europe. These two are the best airports in Europe if you’re looking for flights to Tbilisi. Another option is looking for low-cost airlines flying to Kutaisi airport, another commercially important city in Georgia. Generally the low-cost flights (like the ones from Pegasus or Wizzair) go to Kutaisi.

You can also catch a bus or a train to Tbilisi from any bordering country. To see train tickets just visit railway.ge/en.

Getting a Georgian Visa and Immigration Procedures

Georgia offers entry visa for 67 countries upon arrival in the country for a 365 days stay. That means the visitor can stay in Georgia for 365 days before the visa expires. In order for the Georgian visa to be renewed, simply exit and enter the border again. “Let me get this straight, I can stay for a whole year in Georgia?”. Yes, you heard it right. Maybe a good excuse to travel and get to know the neighboring countries while you are living there?

See Also: Transport From Tbilisi Airport To The City

This generosity to some passports (mine included) allows the visitor to spend long periods in the country without any problem, being possible to live a daily life, rent a house, pay bills, meet new people, develop routine activities, etc. If you have a European Union passport you can enter with an ID card (but I recommend you confirm this with you embassy or the Georgian embassy in your country just to be sure the rules haven’t changed).

Upon arrival, depending on where you’re from, you may need to open your suitcase and show all of your belongings, due to drug related crimes, specially if you come from South America. Other than that, just answer the usual questions and get your stamp on the Passport.

Getting Settled and Working in Georgia

Upon arriving in Tbilisi I highly recommend a visit to the embassy of your country in Tbilisi if there is one. There you can get more answers and warnings (if there are any) about the country and of course, meet your compatriots who live in Georgia. In my case they were very few.

With that said, beware: the long stay permit and free entry do not mean that you can legally work in Georgia with a tourist visa. Even if the country is not really searching for immigrants in this regard, if you start working in Georgia without proper documentation you will be working illegally and therefore will be an outlaw in the country.

This won’t stop you from living in the country and continue working remotely through your computer. Talking of remote work, Georgia has become a very special place for this type of professional. I’ll speak the whys below.

Is Georgia A Paradise for Digital Nomads?

If you start watching videos about Georgia on Youtube you may think the country is a museum piece froze in time. It’s the opposite, Georgia actually has very modern cities with plenty to offer. The image of traditional or rural Georgia can still be found in some places farther away from the big cities but Tbilisi and other large cities in the country offer all the modern convenience you will find in any major capital.

There is a busy nightlife scene, especially in Tbilisi. There are a number of leisure options, cultural and social events, as well as a vibrant presence of tourists and expats, many of which are native English speakers.

The bureaucracy for all services is surprisingly low. Definitely not what we would expect from a country that has just emerged from a Soviet government.

When I visited the bank to open a personal account (I chose TBC bank, which I recommend) I was extremely surprised by how fast the whole process was. I presented my passport to an English-speaking attendant and 10 minutes later I was leaving the bank with an international debit card in my hand and an app to manage my account on the phone.

The same happened when I went shopping for a local SIM card. Overall, this was the same for all the basic services I needed. Internet in the country is also extremely fast and the 3G and 4G accessible in most cities, even on the countryside.

It is possible to find in Tbilisi several coworking spaces where you can just turn on the computer and begin to work. Even so, my personal tip is that you choose a different place every day. The capital is full of public libraries with free WiFi, affordable street cafes and places to sit and focus on your work. My favorites were Kiwi Coffee, Fabrika, National Parliamentary Library of Georgia and Mziuri Coffee.

A good tip: to enter for the first time in the National Parliamentary Library you must register before. At the registration desk you’ll receive a card with your name written in Georgian. It is well worth to pay a visit to the library which is beautiful, have access to the quiet place and the wi-fi and also receive the library card which will be a nice souvenir from your time in Tbilisi.

My library card from the Parliamentary Library

The Cost Of Living in Georgia

In addition, the cost of living in Georgia is very low, compared to most countries. This made Tbilisi some sort of Mecca for mobile workers. There is a strong community of expatriates and foreigners in the capital. Some places like the Warsaw, Dive Bar, Fabrika, Rainers and others are meeting points to this community.

I heard from a German friend that Tbilisi is the Berlin of the 70s and 80s, still recovering from troubles of the past but vibrant and full of people making art, music, nightlife, various events, etc.

How To Meet People in Tbilisi

It may look like a silly advice but, you know Facebook? Most public events, whether paid or not, are posted there and are visible in the Facebook calendar so you can choose to attend or not.

Also, there are many expat groups on the same social network. There are generic, sales groups and exchange groups, learning and practicing languages, photography, etc. Just search some subject related to Tbilisi or Georgia on the search bar and something will pop up (mind you, there is a good chance that some results are for Georgia, the state!).

See Also: Best Day Tours From Tbilisi

The best way to meet people in Tbilisi is to attend these events in person and stay active in Facebook groups. In general the expats taking part in these groups are very open and the Georgian people are generally very receptive to anyone they know coming from a different place. I lost count of how many unexpected dinners I was invited to.

As a Brazilian, I can also say that a different nationality is always a reason for curiosity on the part of the natives. Being a foreign will not guarantee you thousands of instant friends, but it is always a good topic to exchange information about each others’ the culture and habits. To make it a two-way street, I recommend showing some interest in learning about Kartvelian culture and life.

Once I got a late night taxi and I was surprised by a driver who did not speak a word of English, but he mentioned all the Brazilian national team players since 1950 when I spoke the magic words: “me var brasilieli“.

The Best Places To Live in Tbilisi

The main avenue of Tbilisi is called Shota Rustaveli. It cuts across most “areas of interest” in the city. What I mean by areas of interest is where are the bars, museums, theaters, shopping malls, shops, traditional neighborhoods, etc.

This avenue starts at Freedom Square and ends at the Medical Square subway. The name of the avenue changes but I consider it to be the same avenue because it goes the same direction. The central region is the part that comprises the stretch between Freedom Square, May 26th and Trinity Church (making a triangle on the map).

Central Tbilisi: Where Everything Happens

The subway has two lines. One of them follows the entire Rustaveli and continues to the northern part of the city and the other takes you to the end of the Saburtalo region. The most modern and upscale neighborhood is the Saburtalo region, especially the areas closest to the Technical University subway. There you may find many shops and hip restaurants, in addition to being a more upscale residential area.

It is possible to live in the trendiest and most central areas at very affordable prices, depending on your preferred levels of comfort, proximity to the subway and availability to share an apartment or not. For this reason (and from experience) I think it is not worth living very far from the city center, because prices don’t usually drop much and the subway and bus stop working at midnight (except Saturday).

With that in mind, what you would save by living away from the central areas, you will spend on taxis in the middle of the night. I personally lived in Sarajishvili (see map) and I ended up seeing that it was better to pay a bit more to live downtown.

Marjanishvili is a region covered by the subway line and very close to the center. It is also a somewhat more residential area, which is usually very quiet at night, with the exception of the surroundings of Fabrika. I lived there almost the entire time I stayed in Georgia, at Egnate Ninoshvili Street.

Dzveli begins near the Freedom Square area and stretches to become Vake Park. The whole region is also residential and quiet at night but still close to the center. The only observation being that Vake neighborhood does not have its own subway station.

All the these areas are well served by public transport, have a basic market and are near the city center. If you still find that special place not so close to the center, do not be afraid. It is very cheap to buy a second-hand electric or gas scooter in Tbilisi and you do not need a license to drive one.

See Also: Best Areas And Hotels In Tbilisi

If you choose to live near Freedom Square, Rustaveli or Marjanishvili metro station, you can even walk. The city suddenly becomes very small and it is easy to get anywhere by spending only the sole of your shoes (or paying 2-3 lari using a taxi app).

Approximate drawing of the two subway lines in Tbilisi

Public Transport in Tbilisi Georgia

Since I’ve been talking about public transport in Tbilisi, I’d like to elaborate on the topic a bit more. Just keep in mind that I can not speak for other cities in Georgia, as I only lived in the capital.

Tbilisi has an underground metro (it is really deep underground!), buses and marshrutkas (mini-vans) that work very well. Most of the city is covered by the subway and even far away neighborhoods without their own station have several buses and marshrutkas lines.

The marshrutkas are yellow vans that run all over town and can be stopped at any point (except for very busy avenues).

Every means of public transport in Tbilisi is offered at very low prices: bus and subway cost only 0.50 lari and marshrutkas 0.80 lari per trip.

To use the public transportation you can pay directly to the bus and/or marshrutka’s drivers and in case of the subway just buy a ticket in the ticket counter at the stations. The easiest way is to just buy a public transport card for 2 lari at the metro stations and recharge put the amount of money you wish. Public transport cards work on any public vehicle in the city.

Besides public transportation in Tbilisi you can always whistle for a taxi in the street. They are everywhere and any trip within the city center or Sabutarlo usually cost less than 5 lari. Sadly, this is normally only works if you speak Georgian. If you speak in any foreign language, prices will soar.

The alternative is to use one of the taxi apps available for Tbilisi: Yandex and Taxify. Yandex usually has lower prices (I did a lot of 2-3 lari trips), older cars and more rude drivers. Taxify usually sends in newer cars and the driver’s chance of speaking English is higher. Whether you use Yandex or a regular taxis, there is also a good chance that the driver will come with a cigarette in his mouth and will blow a slight puff of smoke on your face. Charming!

Traffic in Tbilisi

If by chance you decide to take my advice and buy a scooter or decide that your thing is going up on a bike and moving around the city, great! That means you really have no fear of dying and that you love adrenaline. 🙂

Traffic in Tbilisi is really chaotic. Traffic rules were made for the rest of the world, not the common Georgian driver. Behind the wheel they become competitive machines where whoever picks up the space first wins. Tracks that separate two way street tracks are there only as a decoration and if the space to park is small, just stick the frontside of the car on the sidewalk. Pedestrians can just jump over your vehicle, of course.

It is common to see crashed cars on the streets. Some people do not even bother fixing them because they are always hitting their cars.

If you want to ride a bike or motorcycle, just remember: a helmet is that object designed to keep intact the facial features of the deceased. Forgive my sarcasm, despite it all, I lived in Tbilisi for months, practically only riding my bike, crisscrossing through cars.

Still on the bicycles topic, if you need cycling and organized cycling lanes to ride your bike, Tbilisi is not a place for you – they are non-existent. Tbilisi was founded on hills and cliffs, so use a biking with a lots of gears.

Places of Interest in Tbilisi

Below I’ll list some places that I find interesting to visit at the capital. But just remember that my aim is to help those who want to stay in the city for a longer period of time. For details on that, check out this post with places to visit in Tbilisi, which will help you explore the city yourself.

• Shota Rustaveli Avenue
• Freedom Square
• Old Town and the Aerial Cable Car
• Warsaw Bar
• Fotografia Gallery
• Dive Bar
• Fabrika
• Lisi Lake
• Mziuri Park
• Bridge of Peace
• Tbilisi Funicular
• Mtatsminda Park

Is Georgia Safe? How Dangerou Is the Country?

Being a small country with so many places to visit, but close to regions engaged in conflicts you may wonder: is Georgia safe? The answer is resounding yes. Absolutely!

I’ve never felt unsafe anywhere in the country. According to locals, 20 years ago crime rates were high, especially in the big cities. Today crime rates are under control across the country and the education system has come a long way. Corruption is no longer a big problem as in Soviet times (or as it is in other former USSR neighbours).

If your question was about security against wars and conflicts, not crime, because of the two occupied regions (Abkhazia and Samachablo/South Ossetia), what I can say (and I have heard from Georgians) is that these regions are stable and there is no big tension at the moment. Even so, most of the embassies advise people not to visit these regions, but although it is possible and fairly easy as you can see here about traveling to Abkhazia).

Is Georgia Safe For Women and LGBT?

In general, Georgia is a conservative country. The Georgian Orthodox Church is the institution that rules most of the life values​ and, at least compared to Europe, I can say that most people, especially in the countryside, follow these precepts.

This means that, with some exceptions, women should stay at home taking care of their children and men should work. Women have less informal freedoms than men have (at least comparing to more progressive cultures). This is especially truer inside the countryside.

Even so, Georgian society has changed a lot over the last decade, after the opening, and there is an increasingly stronger approach to more progressive values.

I particularly lived in a very modern circuit in Georgia, as I frequented the most modern circles of artists and expatriates. In these circles, I never got to see any strong machism or opposition to the rights of gay people that I would not perceive in any other more progressive countries. Even so, I am sure that this may change a little in more traditional circles of society and in the interior of the country.

For women, what I can say from information obtained from female friends of various nationalities is that Georgian men are often be eloquent to women not only at ballads and events but also to strangers on the street. These compliments can become quite insistent and you must do everything to express your denial, perhaps even extrapolating a little politeness rules. These assaults never go beyond these compliments (except for rarer exceptions). This insistence compares somewhat with what happens in most countries, to a slightly greater degree.

As a foreign woman you must also expect to be seen as a more liberal person than the women of the country (at least for the average Georgian guy). If you have large tattoos on display or if you dress very non-standard this factor can be intensified.

Regarding homoaffective individuals, I will begin by citing the recommendation of the Brazilian embassy:

“In 2000, a constitutional amendment was made that decriminalized homosexual conduct in Georgia, but there is no legal provision for stable marriages or homosexual marriages. In 2014 anti-discrimination law was approved in the country, but the lack of criminalization of homophobia in the Penal Code prevents the collection and tabulation of data on the subject, generating a shortage of statistics on punishments.

However, in view of the general intolerance of Georgian society in relation to homosexual sexual orientation, it is suggested that the LGBT community should use the appropriate caution in situations of this nature, such as refraining from making public demonstrations of affection”.

In short, it has long ceased to be a crime to be homosexual in Georgia, but society is still conservative. Even so, things are changing.

The good news is that apps like Grindr work full steam in Georgia and the LGBT community exists and has their events normally. It’s not hard to figure out the cool places to go when you’re gay when you have the first conversation with another native LGBT. Where to find them? In gay friendly places like the Bassiani Nightclub and the Success Bar. I got to visit the last one of them and I assure you that it is a very interesting place to spend a night, whether you are gay or not (my case).

To resume it, it’s worth repeating: the more conservative behaviors will only happen in more traditional Georgian circles, rarely with natives who have already lived abroad, or in places considered as expatriate havens.

Cost of Living in Tbilisi

It is difficult to talk about the general cost of living in Tbilisi and Georgia without having lived for years in the country. So I preferred to list my main expenses and the exact amount I paid while living in the country.

My room in the Marjanishvili area. I lived in a big house sharing with an American, a Swedish and a Georgian.

Considering that exchange rates fluctuate a lot, I’m putting the prices in lari (the Georgian currency, represented by ₾), so that the information remains relevant.

• Rent: $ 170-200 (450 lari) for a double room in Marjanishvili in a large house, 100% furnished and well located
• Shared monthly energy, water, gas and internet expenses: 30 lari per month
• Lobiani, hot dog, khachapuri in stalls: 1-2 lari
• Khachapuri Adjaruli in restaurant (easily feeds 2-3 people): 7-10 lari
• Pint of beer: 4-6 lari
• Bottle of a good Georgian wine: 7-12 lari
• Weekly groceries in supermarket for two people (I don’t go for the cheaper stuff): 40-50 lari
• Weekly groceries at street markets: 25-40 lari
• Taxi within the central region via app: 2-3 lari
• Taxi from central region to near areas via app: 4-6 lari
• Taxi from central to far-away areas via app: 9-12 lari
• Big Mac combo: 13 lari
• 1 Liter Milk: 3-4 lari
• 500g chicken breast: 5-6 lari
• 1kg apples: 2,5 lari
• 2L Coke: 3,5 lari
• Puri bread for two people: 0,6 lari per day
• Basic dinner in a nice restaurant for two: 50 lari

Important observations:

• when dealing with foreigners get used to seeing the value of things being presented in dollars. This means that the person expects to receive the value in US dollars and not the amount converted into lari. Go to one of the hundreds of foreign exchange offices around the city and do the conversion.
• contracts must be in Georgian and English to be valid. Never alone English. You can request a contract in two languages. Depending on the arrangement with the owner of the property you rent, the agreement may be informal / verbal, especially if the owner is a humble / non-English speaking person. Normally one pays the month in advance and there is a charge of an extra rent that is returned when you, the tenant, leaves the property. This extra char serves as a security fee if you mess up something on the property.
• Eating out is extremely cheap and it is hard for the lazy ones to cook anything at home. It is very cheap and easy to eat on the street. Even so, if your choice is home cooking, it is well worth buying your vegetables and fruit on street stalls. They are scattered throughout the city and always have fresh and generally organic products.

What Other Georgian Cities Should I Consider, Besides Tbilisi?

The most cosmopolitan city without doubt is Tbilisi, but if you are in a search for different vibes there are other cities in Georgia as interesting as. It all depends on your goals.

For a quieter life but without giving up some nightlife and services typical of big cities: Kutaisi.

To live on the beach in a city with a fresher, touristing vibe yet also maintaining access to everything you can find in Tbilisi and Kutaisi: Batumi.

To isolate and write that personal book, having access to the best wines, privileged climate and landscapes, quiet life but excellent restaurants: Sighnaghi, in the Kakheti region.

To live life in nature, explore mountains and wildlife, see breathtaking scenery, and become a human popsicle in winter: Mestia, in the Svaneti region.

How Cheap and Easy Is It Traveling Around Georgia

Traveling around Georgia is generally cheap, definitely. There are marshrutkas and trains to various destinations and prices are super low. As an example, I paid 1 lari to go by marshrutka to Mtzkheta (25 km from Tbilisi) and 12 lari to go to Abastumani (250 km).

The train trips normally cost the same, but do not expect much comfort and be prepared for a very low speed. The trains are mostly old and Soviet-style: noisy, cold in winter and unbearably hot in the summer months. It is still worth for the breathtaking scenery, mind you.

The marshrutkas are usually old, crowded, and do not seem to respect the speed limits or road safety rules. Do not be surprised if the driver takes a sip of Chacha (local spirit) and offers another the passengers another sip (laughs).

Georgian Culture

Passionate is the first word that comes to mind. How can you not love the nights of endless singing, Georgian music, wine, food and hospitality of the Georgian people?

Georgia has an ancient culture and the natives there are (understandably) very proud of their culture and heritage. It gives pleasure to see how young and old people make a point of maintaining and passing on all the traditions. Perhaps this is why the local culture and language have survived immaculate to the passage of so many wars, invasions and control of external agents.

There is a saying in Georgian goes something like: “a guest is an angel sent by God”. This well defines the Georgian hospitality culture, as well as the story below.

A Story That Describes Georgian Hospitality Culture

I decided to visit Abastumani, a resting spa embedded within a valley in the mountains in the center of the country. Inside the Marshrutka I met an eloquent English-speaking passenger, very open to talk and exchange ideas.

It did not take long for us to introduce ourselves and I discovered that she was Maya Todua, director of the Abastumani astronomical observatory. Me and Georg (a German friend) were invited to a dinner later inside the observatory’s scientific city. We spent the afternoon in the city and at night we took the cable car that would take us to the top of the mountain for the mentioned dinner.

We were expecting an already planned dinner, where we were invited only by opportunity and by chance, but the truth is that we were the only reason dinner was going on. We got a private lecture from the director of the observatory and then sat down with professors / scientists in one of the academic apartments to have homemade wine and eat Georgian food. All improvised, and of course, delicious. We felt very important being hosted by such important people.

See Also: Where To Eat In Tbilisi

We participated in various toasts to everything imaginable (God, the country, Brazil, Germany, the beauty of women, etc.) and still operated a telescope (with a lot of homemade wine in our bellies), where they showed us the planet Saturn. We were happy as victorious warriors. In the end, we still got a ride to our inn.

Georgian Cuisine

Oh the Georgian cuisine! Ten out of ten tourists will say that one of the best things in Georgia is the food and culture around the table.

The main dishes are:

• khinkali – similar to Chinese dumplings (but do not dare say that to a native)
• khachapuri – my favorite, served in several styles. My favorite was the adjaruli, with local white salty cheese on dough and a raw egg thrown on top of the boiling cheese.
• badrijani
• lobio – spicy bean broth
• lobiani – kind of cake stuffed with bean dough
• kebab – the same prepared in the rest of the world
• mtsvadi
• satsivi

I am not a culinary critic so I have some difficulty describing the dishes. Use Google for more specialized articles, there are many of them. Georgian cuisine is one of the most underrated and little known. There should be a Georgian restaurant in every corner of the world.

Tables always full of food and glasses. Believe me, it’s a lot messier than that. Photograph made before the celebrations start.

I prefer to say that in addition to the delicious dishes, the thing that enchanted me most about Georgian cuisine is the culture that exists around the table. The meetings are always very happy, full of laughter, polyphonic singing and toasts for everything and everyone, always organized by a tamada, the head of toasts of the night.

Tables always crammed with food and wine glasses, which seem to never stop filling up and are always served in a myriad of choices. My favorite is the red wine made from the saperavi grape, but the most interesting and unique is the amber wine. This culture around the table is well represented in the video below. You can also watch the movie My Happy Family on Netflix (Chemi Bednieri Ojakhi). Although sad, it represents really well the culture of the country.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O3m-931QuhE

Georgian Marriage

Remember my trip to Abastumani? That day I ended up receiving an invitation to photograph the wedding of the daughter of one of the teachers attending the Dinner (by the way, I am a professional photographer). I ended up participating in a beautiful ceremony and I believe that the photos I made represent this typical culture of joy at the table existent at the country.

In the Georgian tradition, the groom “steals” the bride at her parents’ house and takes her to the church.

In this picture the spirit of the Georgians at the table is well represented.

Songs and songs. Everybody sings.

Georgian Language: The Alphabet and Useful Expressions

Georgian is the idiom spoken in Georgia, a unique language of a single alphabet. It is one of the 10 oldest languages ​​still spoken in the world and part of the Kartvelian languages, a group of languages ​​practically spoken only within and around Georgia.

The Georgian language is not particularly simple and can be very difficult to learn, especially if your idea is to speak it correctly. Words are formed through prefixes and suffixes that indicate the meaning of words. For example, the name of the country in Georgian, Sakartvelo (საქართველო) means “where the Kartvelians live”, with the prefix “sa” and “o” being added to the radical “kartvel” which make up the meaning of the word.

You do not necessarily have to speak Georgian to live in Georgia, especially if you want to live in the larger cities like Tbilisi, Kutaisi and Batumi. In most essential services it is always possible to find someone who speaks basic to advanced English. In the remaining of the situations Google Translate and the good will of the Georgian people always surpass the language barrier.

Warning: do not rely too much on Google Translate as it still does not work very well when translating complex sentences into the Georgian language.

While the language can be very complicated, the alphabet is extremely simple (however it may seem the contrary). The pronunciation of the letters are exactly as it is read, and there is no distinction of capital letters or small letters. My name for example written and pronounced in the same way as in Portuguese would be ნეთო მასედო (Neto Macedo). It’s just a matter of practice.

I like to say that the Georgian alphabet resembles the Elven alphabet (tengwar) invented by Tolkien for his Lord of the Rings trilogy. I find it very beautiful.

At first it may seem like a lot like little hearts huddled up but with some practice everything starts to make sense. Just as it is hard for an Arabic person to differ the letters b, d, q and p as they may look like the same letters (little balls with sticks up or down), the Georgian letters also seem hard to be differentiated for us, at the beginning. However, after a few hours (or weeks) of practice it becomes much easier to notice the differences.

I learned the alphabet through www.georgian-alphabet.com/en/learn.php, and through practice while living in the country.

If you’re going to live in Georgia I highly recommend that you learn the alphabet. This can save you from various situations on a daily basis and leave you less dependent on natives. You will be able to read buses and marshrutkas destinations, as well as capture key words written on posters, ads, signs, etc.

You can also do Georgian searches on google (which helps you find things in Georgia as a local would) and you will earn a secret alphabet to make notes in secret diaries in your own language that few people will understand.

Some very useful expressions in Georgian are:

• gamarjoba – გამარჯობა – Hi
• kho, kargi, ara – ხრ, კარგი, არა – sim, ok, não
• ara – არა – não
• kargi – კარგი – ok
• madloba – მადლობა – thanks!
• arapris – არაფრის – you’re welcome!
• gaumarjos – გაუმარჯოს – Cheers! (toasting)
• me ar vitsi kartuli – მე არ ვიცი ქართული – I don’t know georgian
• me var …. – მე ვარ … – I am (your nationality)…
• laparakobs aq winme inglisurs? – ლაპარაკობს აქ ვინმე ინგლისურს? – Does someone here speaks english?
• sad aris…? – სად არის… – Where is…?
• numbers from one to ten: erti, ori, sami, otkhi, khuti, ekvsi, shvidi, rva, tskhra, ati.

I remember that my first 10 days in Georgia were spent living with two old ladies. They fed me every two hours with everything you can imagine (always very good food). As I said, it is very important for the Georgian that the guest feels well.

By the third day, I could not stand eating again every two hours and I used the words I knew to express this feeling. I said “ara mshia” (literally “not hungry”) to one of the ladies along with a wave of hand as they offered me another tray of delicious cheese and tea. The reaction was an astonished face expression for hearing me saying words in Georgian other than “gamarjoba” and, as a result, I stayed 2 days without eating (laughs).

The Georgian surnames usually end with Shvili and Dze, words that respectively mean “son” and “child”. For example, Ani Giorgishvili means Ani son of Giorgi and Mariam Berodze means Mariam child of Bero. Patronymic surnames in Georgia are remnants of a habit from the past and are no longer used nowadays for new name registrations. That is why it doesn’t mean that your friend with the Marjanishvili surname, is really the son of Marjani.

There are also other types of surnames and they indicate from where in the country the family comes and can also be related to the profession. There is an article on Wikipedia about this.

To learn more about the language and more expressions, watch this video Marcus and Valentina did on their channel about Georgia and its language. It’s in Portuguese but you may activate English subtitles for it is available.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=txCu6WOwif0.

General Communication and Foreign Languages in Georgia

Since learning Georgian may not be so easy, learn at least the alphabet and useful expressions of everyday life. This effort will bring you very good results on how the Georgians will treat you when you introduce yourself. Not knowing any word in general does not make you a very charismatic person.

Knowing Russian can also be very useful. Because Georgia was a former USSR member for decades, the Russian language was widespread in the country, forcibly, but still widespread. It is common for all people to know, if not fluent Russian, at least a broken Russian.

Apart from these two languages, it is safe to say that no other language is especially useful in Georgia. I’ll give English a third place of honor, because it nowadays the current international language for business and the academic field. While speaking English you will be able to communicate in most major hotels, restaurants, tourist cities, museums, etc.

Are you planning to move to Georgia? Leave your questions in the comments!