Austin vs Buenos Aires vs Panama City vs Playa del Carmen vs Rio de Janeiro

	Austin 🇺🇸 Remove	Buenos Aires 🇦🇷 Remove	Panama City 🇵🇦 Remove	Playa del Carmen 🇲🇽 Remove	Rio de Janeiro 🇧🇷 Remove
Population	926,426	2,900,000	880,691	259,453	6,718,903
Official language(s)	English (de facto)	Spanish	Spanish	Spanish	Portuguese
Level of English	Very high	High	Low	Moderate	Low
Main airport	Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (AUS)	Ministro Pistarini International Airport (EZE)	Tocumen International Airport (PTY)	Cancun International Airport (CUN)	Galeão International Airport
Most common months to visit	March - May, September - November	September - December	December - April	January - May, October - December	January - March, December
Currency	USD - US Dollar ($)	ARS - Argentine Peso ($)	PAB - Panamanian Balboa (B/.)	MXN - Mexican Peso ($)	BRL - Brazilian Real (R$)
Credit cards	Accepted almost everywhere	Accepted everywhere. (ID required!)	Accepted almost everywhere but not in smaller shops.	Accepted almost everywhere	Accepted everywhere
Remote worker visa	No	No	Yes	Yes	No
Average monthly costs	$3484	$1321	$2359	$2143	$1833
Rent	$1650	$844	$1036	$923	$1066
Groceries	$243	$98	$236	$127	$95
Dining out	$396	$121	$371	$207	$210
Cafe	$66	$25	$43	$42	$25
Coworking space	$331	$95	$157	$160	$130
Mobile internet	$40	$11	$21	$21	$7
Public transportation	$110	$9	$12	$17	$33
Taxis	$73	$9	$48	$9	$14
Shared bicycles and scooters	$96	$14	$0	$49	$16
Sport and cultural events	$54	$24	$35	$97	$55
Museums and sights	$11	$4	$9	$217	$26
Nightlife	$124	$23	$117	$77	$54
Gym	$62	$14	$37	$42	$31
Yoga	$139	$19	$163	$54	$40
Massage	$89	$10	$75	$101	$32
SIM card options	AT&T, T-Mobile.	Movistar, Claro, Personal	Claro, Movistar	Telcel, Movistar	Tim, Claro, Vivo
Tipping	15-20% at restaurants, 1USD or more per drink at cafes and bars	10% at restaurants and cafés is common, not common at bars	10% in restaurants, round up elsewhere	10-15% for restaurants	10% usually included in restaurants, 10% at bars and cafes with table service is common
Taxi apps	Uber, Lyft	Uber (not official), Cabify, BA Taxi (Spanish only)	Uber, Tu Chofer	N/A	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.	Argentinian style with an emphasis on red meats, pastries, and Italian-inspired options	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.	Staple dishes from maize, beans, sweet potato and avocado along with meat, chili peppers and other spices	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	Asado, empanadas (Argentinian style), locro, milanesa napolitana, facturas and alfajores	Sancocho de gallina, carimanola, empanadas, tamales panameños, tostones, ropa vieja	Chilaquiles, tacos al pastor, chile rellenos, cochinita pibil, tostadas, pozole	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 restaurants serving asados grill-to-dish (Parrillas), markets (San Telmo, Recoleta) and local cafés for maté and facturas	Fondas (roadside stalls), smaller local restaurants, local markets, food trucks	Taco stands, esquite stalls, El Fogon, El Pirata, Dona Mary's	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	79 options on Happy Cow	7 options on HappyCow	72 listings on Happy Cow	54 options on Happy Cow