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Tbilisi may look closer on a map, but a user request does not follow the line on that map. It crosses an ISP network, may meet a CDN and eventually reaches an application that could be waiting for a database abroad. Georgia or Europe becomes a useful question when it includes a specific user and a specific action.
Two numbers that are often confused
RTT is a network round-trip time. TTFB measures the wait until the first response byte and, depending on the method, can include connection setup and server processing. Neither metric is equivalent to the time needed for the whole page to become visually usable.
Ping provides a limited indication. ICMP may be filtered or handled differently from HTTP, so a missing ping response does not automatically mean the website is broken. Include an actual HTTPS journey and its errors in the decision.
For illustration, location A has an RTT of 12 ms and dynamic-response TTFB of 420 ms. Location B has 45 ms and 190 ms respectively. These numbers are invented, not SERVER1 location benchmarks. They show why the lowest network round trip does not by itself identify the fastest application response.
Next, verify whether the application, cache, server load and database path really match. A difference can come from networking, backend work or an external dependency. One result does not justify concluding that a CPU is inadequate or that an entire country is slow.
One command for an observation
On Linux/macOS, this command makes one ordinary GET request and reports time in seconds. Replace example.com only with an endpoint you own or are authorised to check. On Windows, use the appropriate curl.exe and adapt the output destination to your shell.
curl --silent --show-error --output /dev/null --max-time 15 --write-out 'status=%{http_code} dns=%{time_namelookup} connect=%{time_connect} tls=%{time_appconnect} ttfb=%{time_starttransfer} total=%{time_total}\n' https://example.com/These curl measurements are cumulative from the start; do not add them together. Isolating DNS, TCP or TLS contributions requires differences between the relevant stages and attention to the request conditions. The command does not measure application memory or establish a final root cause.
Let the user journey guide the choice
First make the conditions comparable: the same application, similar resources and separately recorded cache hits and misses. Then observe from the networks that matter to you. One fast response does not identify a winner; one slow response does not condemn an entire location.
For a mainly Georgian audience, VPS in Georgia is a natural candidate. For other important markets, compare the current Global VPS offering. Defend the final choice with the measured journey and operating requirements, rather than the country name alone.
After the network, examine the application side: Linux VPS Monitoring: How to Read CPU, RAM, Disk and Load.
Primary references for the measurements and command: MDN - Time to first byte; MDN - Understanding latency; curl - Official manual.
