Important Tips for Living in Tbilisi, Georgia

We have been living in Tbilisi since 2018 and I have some very useful information for those who are planning to move to Tbilisi and those who are already living in Tbilisi. Now I will share very important tips for living in Tbilisi in this article. Those who are looking for a school for their children in Tbilisi, looking for where to find a house, where to find a car, home furniture shops, hospital, hairdresser, petshop, etc. will find anything easily. I want this article to be your ultimate guide for whatever you need in Tbilisi.

Pros and Cons of Living in Tbilisi, Georgia

Cost of Living in Tbilisi, Georgia

Tips for Living in Tbilisi – Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Renting a house in Tbilisi

In my opinion, the most beautifuk districts to live in Tbilisi are Vake, Vera, Rustaveli St, Saburtalo, Sololaki, Avlabari, Marjanishvili and Ortachala. These are all central districts. When you go out of the center, there is the Digomi area where there are safe housing estates, only transportation will be a little bit troublesome. Since Tbilisi is not a very big city, it’s not a big deal normally, but during the pandemic, public transportation was closed in Tbilisi for a very long time, so I am sure those who lived far away and did not have a car had difficulties. I am writing the websites you can search the houses for rent below . Rental prices in the city have dropped considerably during the pandemic period but increased again after Russia – Ukraine war.

myhome.ge/en

place.ge/en

ss.ge/en

rentals.ge

home.ge/en

area.ge/en

Buying a car in Tbilisi

There are of course many galleries that sell new cars in Tbilisi, but in this article I will only share the website and car market information for those looking for used cars. There is a huge car market called Rustavi Car Market, you should definitely visit it first. You can also check below websites.

myauto.ge

auto.ge

ap.ge/en

Most of the used cars in Tbilisi are damaged cars coming from America or Europe. They are repaired and put up for resale here. You should definitely learn the history of the car, you can use the website below for this. You can access the necessary information by entering the VIN (vehicle identification number) code. Even if its history seems clear, I strongly advise you to have it checked also in the service before you buy the car.

carvin.ge/en

Looking for a job in Tbilisi

Actually, I do not recommend coming to Tbilisi without finding a job because they expect you to speak Georgian or Russian and unfortunately the salaries are low. However, if you want to look for a job here, below you can find the web addresses to look for a job in Tbilisi.

hr.ge

jobs.ge/en

cv.ge

Schools in Tbilisi

Let me first write the kindergartens with English education according to the regions and then the international schools that go from kindergarten / primary school to the end of high school. I will write only the kindergartens and schools that have good comments from parents.

English language kindergartens in Tbilisi

Little Seedlings English Kindergarten – Saburtalo
Sunshine Preschool – Saburtalo
Genius Kids – Vake
Tabula Rasa – Vake
Bright Futures Preschool – Vake
Wonderland Preschool – Digomi

International Schools in Tbilisi

QSI International School
British International School
New School International School of Georgia
European School
Buckswood International School Tbilisi
Finnish International School
Ecole Française du Caucase – French language
Deutsche Internationale Schule – German language

Healthcare & insurance in Tbilisi

I hope you don’t need it, but let me give some information on this topic also. We go to Medi Club Georgia for hospital needs and we go to Minankari Dental Clinic for dental needs. For kids dental health I can suggest Nino Beridze’s Kids Dental Center. Doctors in these hospitals speak English very well. We got our health insurance from GPI. There are packages between 30-100 GEL per person per month.

Shopping in Tbilisi

When you first come to Tbilisi, you will probably rent a furnished house, but later you may want to buy your own furnitures or you may need anything for your house. So I will share the home decor stores. If you are looking for something like ikea, I recommend Jysk. In fact, there’s also a store that sells Ikea products, but it is not Ikea itself, it is called Ikea Basket and the prices are more expensive than normal. If you do not want such standard products, there are also addresses where you can find more stylish special furniture, for example there is a very big store called Pantsilion and there are really nice furniture and decoration products. Homemade and Container are also my favorite furniture decoration stores. I recommend Bricoroma and Domino for construction market.

The most common chain markets in Tbilisi are Carrefour, Goodwill, Spar and Nikora. The most affordable prices are usually in Carrefour, but Spar and Nikora also have very good campaign products, check them frequently. There is also Agrohub which is more expensive but you can find some boutique items, and especially can opt for different fruits and vegetables.

Let me continue with technology stores. The most popular big technology stores in Tbilisi are Elit Electronics and Alta Oktay. Apart from these, there is a chain called Zoommer, which is spread over many parts of the city, mostly smart phones and accessories, laptops, speakers, etc. products are sold, and you can find the cheapest Iphone here in Tbilisi. I bought my phones from here, it is reliable and has tax free option.

There is a big market in Tbilisi. In Dezerter Bazaar, near the central train station, you can find fresh vegetables and fruits cheaper than the markets.

Online shopping in Tbilisi is unfortunately problematic, except for Zara, none of the known stores are open to online shopping. We use Glovo to order from the market to home in Tbilisi. You can order from Glovo not only for the market, but also for some stores, pharmacies and many restaurants. There is also an application called Wolt, which helps you to order from markets, pharmacies and stores. We use these two. Apart from these, let me give a few addresses for online shopping. There are other sites than the ones I listed here but there is no English language option.

Online shopping in Tbilisi

ubuy.ge/en – marketplace

superstore.ge/en – for kitchen and home

beta.phubber.ge – second hand clothes

mymarket.ge/en – general second hand

en.my-day.ge – party shopping

Online shopping in Tbilisi for electronics

zoommer.ge

alta.ge/?sl=en

ee.ge

pcshop.ge

metromart.ge

Beauty and self care in Tbilisi

There are many beauty saloons in Tbilisi but somehow I couldn’t go till last weekend, it was the first time I went to Sam Raan Spa & Wellness Center. I would definitely recommend it both in terms of hygiene and service, it is a very high quality place. It may be the best manicure and pedicure in my life. There are also massage and bath services, we had a couple massage, it was like heaven. For my nails I go to Nail Bar #1 and I’m really satisfied, they have three branches in Vake, Vera and Saburtalo.

Internet and sim card in Tbilisi

The internet we have in the house is Silknet and we are very pleased. You can buy an internet package at the speed and limit you want. I use Magti GSM Operator, my husband uses Geocell, we are both satisfied, we do not have any problems. Magti has monthly limitless internet option for 32 GEL and I use this package.

Georgia news sites in English

Here are the English websites that we mostly read to follow the news in Georgia.

agenda.ge

georgianjournal.ge

georgiatoday.ge

1tv.ge/en/

Tbilisi Beaches

Yes, you did not read wrong, there are beaches in Tbilisi. There is no sea in Tbilisi, but they call an artificial lake “Tbilisi sea”, there is also a beach there. Although the sea is not good, you can consider it to sunbathe and spend pleasant time in the beach. There is also Lake Lisi, it has space for the beach and people sunbathe there.

For more information about Tbilisi, I recommend you to read my articles below.

An Insider’s Guide to Best Instagram spots in Tbilisi

The Insider’s Guide To Eating Out In Tbilisi

I hope you enjoyed this article with tips for living in Tbilisi, if so please don’t forget to like and share. I’ll add more information whenever I learn new ones. If you any good suggestion for Tbilisi, please feel free to comment below.

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