The biggest challenge for us after the move was a question of what to buy where. Local way to buy things is completely different than in the US – if you are moving from a country more similar to Georgia, it may be less of a change.
First of all (and I really hope this is not a surprise to you) – no Amazon. None. At all. And no local equivalent, not even remotely close. You could still order from Amazon US or UK (I do for small light things I just can’t find here at all), but keep in mind that re-shipping companies charge $9/kg of volumetric weight, based on not only weight but package volume as well. So for 1kg package you could be paying like for 10kg package. Re-shippers usually have estimate tool on their website so shipping price for US-Georgia part at least would not be a surprise.
No Amazon means no easy returns. Even if local stores have a return policy (large ones might), the process is extremely inconvenient. For example at Domino it is not unusual to spend 30-40 minutes in line just to return 1 small cheap thing. Be really sure you want to buy something, as you can’t count on return policy to even exist.
No equivalent for specialty stores like BHPhotoVideo, where I used to buy all my photo/video/audio/drone stuff. I did ask around, nothing like that exists here.
Extremely high import tax: if your item costs more then 300GEL equivalent – you will need to pay import VAT on it. Which is 18%. Plus an extra fee to generate VAT invoice for you. Which you need to pay separately, to a different government account than VAT itself, before you even get a VAT invoice. And of course this takes a few extra days. I use usa2georgia re-shipper (which many dislike as they had some package loss issues), I did not personally have any issues with them and their process is the most automated of 5 re-shippers I tried.
Strategy to minimize import VAT is to use re-shipper with many flights per week going from your shopping country to Georgia (another reason I picked who I picked, they have flight from US like 4 times a week). Why? Because you get that 300GEL limit per your packages on a single flight. So if you order something for $70 and 2 days later for $80 – if they arrive at your shipping company on different days of the week, 1st package will fly separately from 2nd, and you owe no VAT. If you use a shipper with say 1 flight a week – these packages will fly together, be over 300GEL threshold and you will need to pay VAT on them.
If you like beef (an issue I mentioned in my other posts) – you can’t find a steak variety here. Only in very special specialty stores and very very expensive, and usually frozen. Fish is more accessible but ocean fish and shrimp etc are also very very expensive. You can buy trout fresh or live almost anywhere, so if you are on a budget and like fish – you need to adjust your diet. Sushi restaurants (ones with real sushi) are also very expensive, on average more expensive than in the expensive US states.
Camping gear – best is to buy on local FB groups dedicated to camping gear. You can find great quality stuff at reasonable prices. Though winter/4-season tents you just can’t buy here at all. I looked and asked around. Can’t import them from Russia for obvious reasons though there are some really nice ones available there. So your options are import from Europe or US, but shipping is cost prohibitive, they are heavy. If you are shipping stuff in container – definitely consider buying a winter tent with stove capability and ship it that way. I sold my (old) winter tent before moving hoping to buy one I like from Russia, but the war happened and now I have no way to buy one.
Computers – many stores here offer custom builds at reasonable prices, maybe even cheaper than buying components separately and building yourself. So consider that or buy used on FB. If you have a decent one – can ship it in a container (expect to pay a lot of VAT).