In January 2021 I moved to the country of Georgia. Georgia is a small country bordering Russia to the north and Turkey, Armenia and Azerbaijan to the south and east. I had visited for a brief holiday in February 2020 and liked what I saw. I was looking for a place where the cost of living was much lower than in my home country of the United Kingdom. I am self-employed and my income is variable. In recent years, I have not done so well financially because of the high cost of living and as everyone knows, that is only going to get worse. My only son left home in 2018 leaving me free to choose my place of abode. He currently lives in Australia as it happens.
I tutor mathematics and physics for a living online so I can work remotely. Since the pandemic, online tuition has risen in popularity. I now have temporary residency in this country. I live in the centre of Tbilisi, the capital city.
Living here suits me. Though rental prices have risen since the influx of Russians escaping the draft, it is still cheaper than the UK and I don’t need to pay any council tax. I do currently pay tax in the UK still (the rules on that are quite complicated) but from next year, I should be able to pay only voluntary pension contributions. In Georgia I pay 1% tax on my gross turnover as I registered as an Individual Entrepreneur.
My work is mostly late in the evening due to the three or four hour time difference between the UK and Georgia. It is relatively easy to get flights back to the UK although there are no direct flights.
Tbilisi is a city with no clearly-defined centre. It is surrounded by hills, is oppressively hot in the summer and never gets very cold in the winter. It is easy to manage without a car because from where I live, the old city is walking distance and taxis are very cheap. They cost about $1 per km. I rent a large apartment in the area popular with embassies. The Slovakian embassy is just down the road. There are many cafes to choose from.
Meanderings of a peripatetic maths teacher 