Tbilisi 🇬🇪 VS Sofia 🇧🇬 (Which is better for living and travel?) 

Looking at this from a tourist's eyes, Tbilisi is definitely prettier than Sofia. Tbilisi has this Caucaus, European mix and makes it really different. Georgian wine is really excellent as you say. The view from the above, when you take the cable is definitely cool. I found their airport to be more modern because it was newer compared to the Sofia one. It does, however, get a bit touristic when the Russians arrive as they do not require a visa. The public transport in Tbilisi is definitely way older, though I am not sure about their road system. Sofia from the other hand is generally better to settle down because it does not offer you the prettier look and feel Tblisi has, but the numerous parks, less touristic pace and being surrounded by nature in every aspect does compensate this a lot. Service wise, Sofia also has a better choice: Affordable and reasonable housing, Mon-Sun open supermarkets from 7h-22h, certain banks opened on weekends, more foodie options, etc. Not only can you fly to Lisbon, Valencia, Copenhagen for 30€ for instance but you can also take the train/bus or drive to Thessaloniki, Bucharest, Belgrade (all within an approx. 400km reach) and of course Istanbul. EU membership is obviously the biggest advantage: free mobile roaming, automatic recognised professional experience in the EU (needed for future pension), driving licenses recognition, hassle-free banking and the list goes on. That said, if the euro is adopted on the 1st January 2023, this will further be beneficial even if some say there is a risk of becoming a new Greece or Italy where in my opinion, Bulgaria has learnt a lot after the catastrophic winter of 1996/1997 and is probably highly unlikely to reach those levels. Lastly, salaries in Sofia-grad are currently gradually reaching Central European levels and it's definitely much easier to earn a good salary if you are an expat with some skills and foreign languages (skilled labour). If you are running a private business, then the flat corporate tax is still fixed at 10% since 2008.

I would choose Georgian wine over the rest too. Tbilisi is a much more interesting city than Sofia, aesthetically speaking.

Lived in Sofia for 9 months and loved it. I stopped using taxis and avoided the touristy/clubby parts and had an awesome time. The people and the attitude to life won me over and I'm going back. Lived in the deep countryside for 4 months and it was great too. Depends on what you're looking for.

I was actually in the process of choosing Bulgaria, Portugal or Georgia. Because I run online business, it was really not that great to keep residing in UK anymore - high living costs, food, weather, personal taxes (good if you start out, but not great after you're established). I actually chose Bulgaria over other two, because of good connections of flights, it's easy to get sorted in terms of residence as I am from EU and taxes are lower compared to Portugal's NHR (20%). I was even thinking not to move to Sofia, but rather coastal cities (Burgas or Varna), because it is closer to sea - however don't know if it is that good in practice as coastal cities are probably dead during winter months. Great content as always.

I haven't been to Georgia, but being Ukrainian I have heard a lot about the country of course. On the other hand I've been to Bulgaria twice. The first time I was on a tour and the tour operators just skipped Sofia deliberately. "There is nothing to see there". Ok. The second time I had a bit of a walk and it was very average. For someone Soviet-raised like me, it's very much more of the same. This was long time ago though, so hopefully things changed.

@Offshore Citizen thank you so much for this video! We are contemplating a move to Tbilisi and you gave us a lot of food for thought! 😃👍

Great content and really smart points from you! However, for non-EU citizen it's much easier to relocate and do business in Georgia, i belive. Because BG require either work permit or foreign's office representation. While in Georgia you can easily rent appartment then register as a sole-proprietor and get residence permit on that basis. Would love to see the Batumi vs Varna comparision too.

Oh my God, finally someone was found to describe Tbilisi quite clearly! I feel like I said this in front of the camera

thanks for this video

Great video

Tbilisi the great city❤❤💘💘

You're a smart chap, congrats

Awesome info

Good video. Even though Sofia is a very old, it is the newest capital of Bulgaria, that's why you need to compare Tbilisi with Veliko Tarnovo or Plovdiv for instance or take part of all of them combined :) in addition 40% of Sofia was unfortunately destroyed and demolished during WW2

The other guy :) Andrew loves Georgia and is a bit negative about Sofia. I never been to Tbilisi but maybe that's next stop. I don't dislike Sofia I even prefer it to Lisbon as it's cleaner for sure.. I am a dual citizen with South Africa and Portugal and crime in SA is bad but taxes if you are a Portuguese citizen are high. So I am still looking for my base. Thank you for your informative reviews I really enjoy your channel.

Sofia is great. Lived there for some time. Haven't been to Tbilisi yet :) But I'm pretty sure it's awesome too.

Michael, what is the dating scene like in both of these cities?

Love from Georgia

Good Info Michael. I would want to live (part-time) in Sofia, Bulgaria and register my Online (Virtual) Business in Georgia. I like the 10% Flat Tax in Bulgaria.

Please do a video on amenia vs Albania.

Great vid, thanks for sharing. I’d also add healthcare as a topic for discussion. As far as 2023 goes, Georgia has turned into a cesspool of Russian’s and a major victim to inflation. It’s really not livable here any longer and the traffic and prices is 3x more than when I moved here in summer 2021.

Love Bulgaria!

Please do not forget the PEOPLE...Georgians are much more friendly and hospitable. Georgian food is more versitile! Georgian taxes -are more loyal!

In past, small city called 'Serdica", now Sofia, capital of Bulgaria

Poor air traffic because of the Turks, the Turks bought an airport in Tbilisi and made almost all flights through Turkey, so low-cost airlines had to be made only in Kutaisi. By the way, a new autobahn will soon open to Kutaisi, and it will be possible to get there in a couple of hours.

There is underground metro system in Tbilisi. Daily ridership 400 000 people every day, Sofia metro has 350 000.

Tbilisi has a metro btw.

What you said about Tbilisi that is objective.

Can you do Madeira Vs Canary Islands?

Hello. excellent video. I am very glad you compared Sofia and Tbilisi. I would like to ask you to make comparison between Tbilisi and Belgrade. Similarity between these two my favorite cities is greater than that between Sofia and Tbilisi.

For living, you forgot about visas comparison for non European citizens.

They are slowly tightening the screws on the traffic system in Georgia. Boy oh boy, you should've seen Tbilisi 12 years ago, its unrecognisable, the traffic movement i mean. Its still trash atm, so really bend your imagination. Lol.

🇬🇪✌🏻👍🏻

in Georgien there is not all cars broken and old🤨🤨🤨 and there is grate food🤪🤪🤪

Sorry, butwhen comparing two countries you had better write down a kind of schedule so that you do not mess up confusing one place with another. For example I think you messed up when talking about the internet, so that at end the question remains open (though you summarized it towards the end of your video): where is the Internet and sim-card story better, in Sofia or in Tbilisi? A question about residency permit: you did not mention the one-year visa you get when entering Georgia which allows people to live there many years as they just move out for a weekend to Armenia or Turkey, re-enter Georgia and get another one-year-visa. Is the system still in place?

There was an old movie about 2 caps and the old cap told a joke about 2 bulls looking down at the herd of cows down the hill..................................................................................

If I wasn't married, I would probably live between two places like this.

Tbilisi is one of the oldest city in the world with big history

This channel sounds just like Nomad Capitalist.

Only people who never lived in Georgia would make videos like that. I know plenty of Georgians who have gladly moved out! Being a tourist is not like living there. It is also an extremely unstable country, always on the verge of political and economic problems because of its location

too much ramabling on

You are very often deviating from the main thought on not so important topics without finishing the sentence properly. It's difficult to follow. You need to improve your speech style.

What is the purpose of this video? You are comparing apples and oranges. Why aren't you in Georgia if it is so amazing? Why are all the Georgians are now fighting tooth and nail to leave that country?