Georgia
This 33-year-old left the U.S. for Georgia and lives on $1,592 a month: ‘Now, I’m semi-retired’
![This 33-year-old left the U.S. for Georgia and lives on $1,592 a month: ‘Now, I’m semi-retired’](https://image.cnbcfm.com/api/v1/image/107060461-1652384029645-IMG_6970_Original.jpg?v=1652385404&w=1920&h=1080)
In 2020, Mike Swigunski was amongst hundreds of thousands of individuals in lockdown because the Covid-19 pandemic swept the globe. However as an alternative of hunkering down with roommates or household, Swigunski was 6,000 miles away from house, alone abroad.
Swigunski had solely deliberate to go to Georgia, a small nation that sits between jap Europe and western Asia, for 30 days. However when Georgia closed its borders in early March to assist curb the unfold of the virus, the Missouri native was pressured to increase his keep within the nation’s capital, Tbilisi.
As Swigunski recollects, nonetheless, he rapidly fell in love with Tbilisi’s old-world attraction in addition to its relaxed tradition of excellent meals and heat hospitality. Now, Swigunski, 33, resides and dealing from Tbilisi as a nomadic entrepreneur, a choice that has helped him stay “the next high quality of life for a fraction of the associated fee,” he tells CNBC Make It.
If he was dwelling within the U.S., Swigunski provides, “I must be working much more … now, I am semi-retired.”
Tragedy, then wanderlust
Swigunski had all the time dreamed of touring the world, and earlier than he graduated from the College of Missouri in 2011, he discovered himself at a crossroads: pursue a standard company job, or journey to Prague, the place he was supplied the chance to guide a bunch of scholars finding out overseas.
Then, one month earlier than commencement, Swigunski’s mom died from breast most cancers. “I used to be completely devastated,” he says. “I used to be 22 years outdated, and I used to be confused on which path to comply with … however I knew my mom would have wished me to comply with my goals.” He determined to comply with his ardour and booked a one-way ticket to Europe.
Since then, Swigunski has visited over 100 international locations, dwelling and dealing in numerous locales for months, or years at a time: He is been a journey author in Korea, an promoting supervisor in Australia and a advertising and gross sales supervisor in New Zealand, amongst different jobs.
4 years in the past, Swigunski determined to monetize his experience in distant working and journey. His enterprise, World Profession, is a web-based useful resource of job boards, workshops, teaching and extra the place folks can find out about entrepreneurship as a digital nomad.
“These companies are serving to different folks by inspiring them to create a unique journey or begin their very own world careers,” he says. “I wish to assist different folks develop into digital nomads in a quicker path.”
Residing in Georgia is ‘ten occasions’ cheaper than the U.S.
Swigunski’s annual revenue hovers between $250,000 and $275,000 — and because of tax advantages in Georgia, he will get to maintain much more of his revenue than he would in any other case.
Georgia has a 1% tax charge for particular person small enterprise homeowners like Swigunski, and the U.S. has a tax profit for expats that excludes as much as $112,000 of revenue from being taxed.
“Working a number of companies from Georgia is certainly rather a lot simpler than if I used to be based mostly within the U.S. and it primarily simply comes all the way down to the associated fee,” he explains. “If I had been making an attempt to duplicate my identical infrastructure within the U.S., it might in all probability be round ten occasions costlier.”
Per Georgian regulation, residents from 98 international locations, together with the U.S., can reside there for one full yr and not using a visa, and apply for an extension as soon as the yr is up, which is how Swingunski continues to be dwelling in Georgia.
His greatest bills are his hire and utilities, which collectively are about $696 every month. Swigunski lives in a two-bedroom condo with a non-public Italian backyard that he discovered by means of a neighborhood realtor. “As quickly as I noticed this place, I fell in love,” he says.
Here is a month-to-month breakdown of Swigunski’s spending (as of February 2022):
Mike Swigunski’s common month-to-month spending
Gene Woo Kim | CNBC Make It
Lease and utilities: $696
Meals: $469
Transportation: $28
Cellphone: $3
Subscriptions: $16
Medical health insurance: $42
Journey: $338
Complete: $1,592
One facet of dwelling alone that Swigunski discovered he did not get pleasure from early on is cooking — so as soon as he moved to Georgia, he employed a non-public chef to come back to his home six days per week and put together meals for him, which prices about $250 per 30 days.
A personal chef may sound like an opulent expense, however Swigunski says it is really saved him some huge cash. “With out a chef, I might be consuming out much more and ordering takeout,” he says. “However having a chef permits me to eat more healthy and it saves me time and cash that I can put towards my enterprise as an alternative.”
‘I am happier dwelling in Tbilisi than I’d be dwelling anyplace else’
Swigunski’s favourite a part of being a nomadic entrepreneur is that “daily appears totally different.”
Every morning, Swigunski likes to get pleasure from a cup of espresso and skim a e book outdoors in his backyard, then he tries to sneak in a fast meditation and exercise earlier than logging onto work.
He normally works from house as a result of it is the place he is “best,” however typically he’ll head to a espresso store or co-working house with mates.
One of many greatest variations between dwelling in Georgia and the U.S., Swigunski says, is that Georgians are “much more relaxed.” “A variety of locations do not even open till 10 a.m., and usually, Georgians are working to stay, not dwelling to work,” he provides.
There is a phrase that describes Georgian hospitality: “A visitor is a present from God.” That has held true for Swigunski, who notes that individuals are “very welcoming to foreigners” and have been “completely great” in his expertise.
However dwelling overseas is not as glamorous because it might sound on the floor. “It isn’t for everybody,” Swigunski says. “There’s going to be a whole lot of totally different variables that you simply will not be capable to replicate out of your outdated lifetime of dwelling within the U.S.”
As a result of Georgia continues to be a growing nation, Swigunski explains, “your electrical energy or water shuts off just a little bit extra right here than different places — this is not taking place daily, but it surely does occur a few occasions a yr.”
Though he feels homesick for his household and mates within the U.S. typically, Swigunski says he is “happier dwelling in Tbilisi” than he could be dwelling “anyplace else on the planet,” and plans to remain in Tbilisi for the foreseeable future.
“Would I ever stay within the U.S. once more? I do not wish to converse in absolutes, I really like America,” he says. “However as of now, I simply get pleasure from my life abroad much more than if I had been going to stay within the U.S.”
Try:
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Georgia
JA of Georgia will celebrate local business owners at annual fundraiser
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Liz Wright started with The Augusta Press in May of 2022, and loves to cover a variety of community topics. She strives to always report in a truthful and fair manner, which will lead to making her community a better place. In June 2023, Liz became the youngest recipient and first college student to have been awarded the Georgia Press Association’s Emerging Journalist of the Year. With a desire to spread more positive news, she especially loves to write about good things happening in Augusta. In her spare time, she can be found reading novels or walking her rambunctious Pitbull.
Georgia
1974 Alive at Georgia Tech
![1974 Alive at Georgia Tech](https://news.gatech.edu/sites/default/files/features/thumbnails/2024-06/1974%20thumb2%20360x360.jpg)
Nine months after the sold-out show at Tech, Yes played at The Omni Nov. 30 for more than 16,000 fans. The next night, rock icon David Bowie performed the final show of his Diamond Dogs tour at the same arena — and within a year of their Fall 1974 shows, KISS and Lynyrd Skynyrd would each return to Atlanta as headliners at The Omni.
Throughout the 1970s, Tech would continue to host many of the decade’s most prominent bands and artists at Alexander Memorial Coliseum and Bobby Dodd Stadium. The Dog Day Afternoon festival in 1977 and Alex Cooley’s Champagne Jam concerts in 1978 and 1979 brought massive, sweaty crowds of music fans to campus for acts including Atlanta Rhythm Section, Bob Seger, Cheap Trick, Foreigner, Heart, The Cars, and Aerosmith.
The Georgia Tech Athletics Association has continued to open its facilities for music promoters in years since, and Tech has hosted Dolly Parton, Bob Dylan, Pink Floyd, Ludacris, Big Boi, and the Rolling Stones (twice!). “We are approached periodically about hosting external events, including concerts featuring popular acts,” an Athletics spokesperson said. “We are proud to provide great entertainment opportunities for the Georgia Tech community and are always looking to drive revenue that can help us provide additional resources for our student-athletes.” Most recently, Athletics welcomed thousands of Yellow Jacket supporters and music fans for the Helluva Block Party series of pregame concerts on North Avenue.
Five decades on, many of the bands whose sounds reverberated within the metal rafters of Alexander Memorial Coliseum are revered by millions. Auslander explained why he thinks the popular music of the 1970s persists. “Today, there are more shared musical tastes and experiences across generations than in the past. Youth in the 1970s mostly rejected the music and culture of their parents — now, we see parents and their children listening to the same music and going to concerts together,” he said.
Although his football experience was cut short due to injury, Ken Smith studied building construction, industrial management, and mechanical engineering at Tech and ran a successful HVAC company in the Augusta area. Over the past 50 years, Smith has seen the Doobie Brothers live more than 30 times, as well as Chicago and Lynyrd Skynyrd.
And Ned Barbre has continued returning to the Tech campus for concerts, including Pink Floyd, Jimmy Buffett, Arlo Guthrie, and the Stones.
Having experienced more than 40 KISS concerts from 1974 through the band’s farewell tour, David Dean said, “I will always remember that first show at Georgia Tech.”
Georgia
Georgia's tourism industry hit by loss of Israeli visitors
![Georgia's tourism industry hit by loss of Israeli visitors](https://static.euronews.com/articles/stories/08/52/56/78/1200x675_cmsv2_0a4364eb-ec06-5917-b33d-b7ab47f33cae-8525678.jpg)
“Bookings have been cancelled, and projections for new bookings are very low” according to one restauranteur.
Georgia’s summer season has begun but a significant share of visitors are missing: Israelis.
The ongoing war between Israel and Hamas has meant Israelis are less able or unwilling to travel internationally. This drop in numbers is being felt in Georgia which usually welcomes many visitors from Israel.
“The loss is noticeable. The situation in the region has affected the number of tourists from Israel,” says Levan Giorgadze from Tbilisi Free Walking Tours.
“Compared to previous years, the number of tourists from Israel has decreased noticeably. I wouldn’t say that they don’t come at all anymore, it’s just, of course, in smaller quantities.”
Georgia’s capital Tbilisi is popular year-round with tourists, while the beaches along the Black Sea coast are a popular summer holiday destination.
Shota Burjanadze, Chairman of the Georgian Restaurateurs Association, expressed similar worries: “Bookings have been cancelled, and projections for new bookings are very low. Therefore, unfortunately, this year will not live up to expectations.”
But not everyone agrees. Maia Omiadze, Head of Georgia’s Tourist Association, believes the summer will be busy, bustling and successful. She notes that the 15 places from which tourists visit the most include Georgia‘s neighbouring countries, Persian Gulf nations and the European Union.
“The data for the first quarter of 2024 was very positive. This result allows us to have high expectations and to assume that the second quarter, the summer season and the general trend towards the end of the year in the tourism industry will be very positive,” she says.
“We expected tourists mainly from Asia, Persian Gulf and European countries. European countries made up 5% of the total number. Today, tourists are mainly expected to visit Adjara and are largely coming from our neighbouring countries, Turkey, Armenia and Russia,” Maia adds.
Office for National Statistics data for the first quarter of 2024 shows these nations still hold the top three places for the most number of visitors to Georgia.
Watch the video above to see more about Georgia’s tourism industry in 2024.
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