Austin vs Bogota vs Istanbul vs Panama City vs Rio de Janeiro

	Austin 🇺🇸 Remove	Bogota 🇨🇴 Remove	Istanbul 🇹🇷 Remove	Panama City 🇵🇦 Remove	Rio de Janeiro 🇧🇷 Remove
Population	926,426	10,978,360	15,520,000	880,691	6,718,903
Official language(s)	English (de facto)	Spanish	Turkish	Spanish	Portuguese
Level of English	Very high	Low	Low	Low	Low
Main airport	Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (AUS)	El Dorado International Airport (BOG)	Istanbul Airport (IST)	Tocumen International Airport (PTY)	Galeão International Airport
Most common months to visit	March - May, September - November	January - March, December	April - June, September and October	December - April	January - March, December
Currency	USD - US Dollar ($)	COP - Colombian Peso ($)	TRY - Turkish Lira (₺)	PAB - Panamanian Balboa (B/.)	BRL - Brazilian Real (R$)
Credit cards	Accepted almost everywhere	Accepted everywhere	Accepted in most places	Accepted almost everywhere but not in smaller shops.	Accepted everywhere
Remote worker visa	No	No	No	Yes	No
Average monthly costs	$3484	$1097	$659	$2359	$1833
Rent	$1650	$480	$354	$1036	$1066
Groceries	$243	$82	$44	$236	$95
Dining out	$396	$174	$81	$371	$210
Cafe	$66	$22	$18	$43	$25
Coworking space	$331	$77	$49	$157	$130
Mobile internet	$40	$11	$3	$21	$7
Public transportation	$110	$23	$6	$12	$33
Taxis	$73	$28	$6	$48	$14
Shared bicycles and scooters	$96	$17	$2	$0	$16
Sport and cultural events	$54	$22	$11	$35	$55
Museums and sights	$11	$7	$15	$9	$26
Nightlife	$124	$46	$22	$117	$54
Gym	$62	$15	$9	$37	$31
Yoga	$139	$57	$23	$163	$40
Massage	$89	$37	$15	$75	$32
SIM card options	AT&T, T-Mobile.	Tigo, Movistar, Claro	Turkcell, Turk Telekom	Claro, Movistar	Tim, Claro, Vivo
Tipping	15-20% at restaurants, 1USD or more per drink at cafes and bars	10% service included in all bills, not required or expected at bars without table service	Tip 5-10% in restaurants, cafés and bars	10% in restaurants, round up elsewhere	10% usually included in restaurants, 10% at bars and cafes with table service is common
Taxi apps	Uber, Lyft	Uber, Cabify	BiTaksi	Uber, Tu Chofer	Easy Taxi, 99 Taxi, Uber
Tap water	Drinkable	Not drinkable	Not drinkable	Not drinkable	Not drinkable
Overall cuisine	Emphasis on barbecued meats (beef and pork) as well as corn-based dishes and tex-mex, and rich American-style desserts.	Latin American. Dishes with beef, pork and chicken are often mixed with flour-based foods and fruity desserts. Heavy influence from the Andes and other Colombian regions.	A fusion of cultures creates diverse dishes with bulgur, koftes, stews, eggplants and fish	Latin American. Emphasis on rice, beans, coconut, and local fruits and vegetables. Pork and beef are regularly used and influence from the islands gives seafood dishes a prominent spot in Panamanian cuisine.	Emphasis on rice, beans, pork and beef with a variety of root vegetables and fresh fruits. Fresh seafood is also very common.
Local food specialities	Frito pie, queso, apple pie, kolaches, BBQ ribs, tacos	Arepas, ajiaco santaferense, buñuelos, patacones, té de coca, changua	Döner, İçli Köfte, Dondurma, Karnıyarık, Turkish delight	Sancocho de gallina, carimanola, empanadas, tamales panameños, tostones, ropa vieja	Feijoada, bolinho de bacalhau, fried sardines, caldo verde, pao de queijo and brigadeiros.
Eat like a local	Local tex-mex restaurants, lunch BBQ joints, taquerias, food trucks, local breweries	Local family restaurants and those from other regions. Menú del día. Community markets and sports bars.	Traditional breakfasts, street stalls for simit, lahmacun and kokorec, Turkish coffee	Fondas (roadside stalls), smaller local restaurants, local markets, food trucks	The "snack capital" of Brazil, Rio is a perfect place to try street food as well as the wide varieties of small, traditional eateries and churrascarias easily found across the city.
Vegetarian / vegan options	30 options on HappyCow	104 options on Happy Cow	59 listings on Happy Cow	7 options on HappyCow	54 options on Happy Cow