- Salil Padmanabh
As I moved to Tbilisi with my spouse, InterNations has helped us make friends outside of our work colleagues.
Living in Batumi
Few border towns have quite the story to tell that Batumi does. The city was founded by the ancient Greeks, who called it 'Bathus' in reference to its deep harbor. Since then, it has been occupied by the Romans, the Byzantines, Arab armies, the Ottoman Empire, Imperial Russia, the Kingdom of Georgia, British forces and the USSR. The notorious Joseph Stalin even spent time living in Batumi and organizing strikes. Today, the city is still a busy port, and a flurry of international interest has led to a boom in investment. Life in Batumi is vibrant and metropolitan, with dozens of new restaurants, cafés and even a hotel built in the style of the famous lighthouse of Alexandria. Expatriates in Batumi also have 'the old Batumi' to explore. The Batumi Botanical Gardens are famous even in neighboring countries – Batumi is known as the Antalya of the Caucasus – and the Old Mosque stands as a testament to the religious and cultural diversity of this majorly Orthodox city.
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Attend our monthly events and activities for Batumi expatriates to get to know like-minded expatriates in real life.
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Moving to Batumi
As the city is a major Black Sea port, people living in Batumi are used to the arrivals of international businesspeople and expatriates. An international airport, Batumi International Airport, serves the city – which even has its own airline based there. Expats moving to Batumi find that in addition to a booming town, the local community is used to international visitors and there are many global minds living in Batumi. For tips and reliable information on expatriation and settling in as an expat, the InterNations Expat Magazine has a good collection of articles on topics ranging from expat finance and insurance to cross-cultural communication and working abroad. These should be all you need to get off to a great start, and you can also glean some useful extra tips from our collection of articles and commentary written by other InterNations members on our website.
Working in Batumi
Adapting to work in this thriving international town of some 180,000 should be an easy transition for expatriates. As well as a buzzing atmosphere, a booming local economy and a diverse community, Batumi's location is nothing short of idyllic. The city sits in a rich agricultural zone with the Black Sea on one side and an area of outstanding natural beauty, Mtirala National Park, on the other. In the midst of such luxuriant surroundings, of course, you will probably want to get in touch with other expats in Batumi to get information on working in Batumi or to socialize. InterNations provides the perfect platform for contacting local expats – you can find other members near or living in Batumi on the InterNations discussion groups, forums and private communications. It isn't uncommon for meet-ups to be arranged in this way and in such fortunate surroundings, expatriates will have plenty to talk about.