What is retirement?
You can retire young in Georgia with a reasonable amount invested in rental real estate. But first, let's agree on the definition of retirement, and according to Naval Ravikant, it is "when you stop sacrificing today for an imaginary tomorrow. When today is complete, in and of itself, you’re retired. You retire by saving up enough money, becoming a monk, or by finding work that feels like play to you"
In practical terms, retirement comes down to having enough money, so you are not worried about getting fired and can live a good life without doing work. It doesn't mean you will opt-in to relax all the time, but you will have a choice to not work, aloowing yourself to pursue an activity that doesn't make money or start a business that can have a huge upside but no guarantees.
You can also think of retirement as a range of no worries about money. Where 100% could be having a diversified fully-passive portfolio of assets yielding a million dollars per year and covering your yearly expenses a few folds, and 50% would be a few rented-out apartments in Tbilisi covering your basic money requirements. Some could have a Georgian retirement as a final destination, while others would see it as a temporary stay on their retirement journey.
360k USD for a comfortable life in Georgia
I'm not single, but I don't have kids. For a simple life in Georgia without paying rent, we need at least 1000 USD per month. Therefore to achieve a first retirement stage, we need to own a comfortable place for ourselves and rent apartments that would generate 1k in pure profits. An important part here is profit. Well, I rent my old apartment for 1050$ per month, but it's revenue. I think the real projected profit would be around 500$. Let me explain.
First, you need to pay property tax of up to 1% of the property value and 5% tax on the rental income. Second, there are constant fixes and renovations to be made. Third, there could be periods when your apartment isn't rented either because of market conditions or ongoing renovation. Fourth, rent is superficially high now because of war in neighboring countries and resulting immigration driving higher demand. For example, When I came to Georgia two years ago, I paid less than 400$ for a good Airbnb apartment in the center. Also, you could've rented a place similar to my old apartment for 500$ before the war.
If you are in a similar situation to me, you would need around 360000 USD to buy three apartments 120.000 USD each, one for living and two for rent. That way, you are more likely to cover your 1k living expenses while spending time in your comfortable apartment, which you can improve over time. As a next goal after that, a good one would be to have four apartments in Tbilisi and one on the seaside. That way, you can cover your expenses with three rental apartments in the capital and have a nice place on the seaside for a slower pace of living. But it's a more expensive goal that could take more than half a million.
Diversification risks
Georgia is a good country for financial freedom and early retirement, especially now, with more opportunities available through remote work. You can save more of your income here than in western countries. And if you have a business overseas, you may have tax exemption. But maybe putting all your money into Georgian real estate wouldn't be the best strategy because it's not a diversified approach. However, it might be worth the risk if you keep earning money after getting all those apartments and putting them into other assets.
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