Bangkok vs Barbados vs Budapest vs Istanbul vs New York City

	Bangkok 🇹🇭 Remove	Barbados 🇧🇧 Remove	Budapest 🇭🇺 Remove	Istanbul 🇹🇷 Remove	New York City 🇺🇸 Remove
Population	5,680,000	110,000	1,768,073	15,520,000	8,323,340
Official language(s)	Thai	English, Bajan Creole	Hungarian	Turkish	English (de facto)
Level of English	Low	Very high	High	Low	Very high
Main airport	Suvarnabhumi Airport (BKK)	Bridgetown/Grantley Adams International Airport (BGI)	Budapest Ferihegy International Airport (BUD)	Istanbul Airport (IST)	John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK)
Most common months to visit	January - March, November, December	November - May	March - June, September - November	April - June, September and October	April - June, September - November
Currency	THB - Thai Baht (฿)	BBD - Barbadian dollar ($)	HUF - Hungarian Forint (Ft)	TRY - Turkish Lira (₺)	USD - US Dollar ($)
Credit cards	Accepted almost everywhere	Accepted in some places, cash also needed for smaller businesses	Accepted almost everywhere, cash needed for small shops	Accepted in most places	Accepted everywhere
Remote worker visa	No	Yes	No	No	No
Average monthly costs	$1560	$2702	$1230	$659	$5431
Rent	$616	$1054	$499	$354	$2891
Groceries	$191	$234	$108	$44	$383
Dining out	$168	$345	$202	$81	$656
Cafe	$45	$75	$29	$18	$72
Coworking space	$127	$321	$120	$49	$326
Mobile internet	$23	$49	$9	$3	$45
Public transportation	$32	$35	$36	$6	$220
Taxis	$19	$106	$27	$6	$78
Shared bicycles and scooters	$17	$0	$13	$2	$30
Sport and cultural events	$46	$37	$24	$11	$100
Museums and sights	$21	$36	$7	$15	$74
Nightlife	$50	$96	$43	$22	$195
Gym	$96	$86	$37	$9	$55
Yoga	$98	$130	$48	$23	$197
Massage	$11	$99	$26	$15	$109
SIM card options	AIS	Digicel	Vodafone, Telenor	Turkcell, Turk Telekom	AT&T, Verizon
Tipping	10% for restaurants, bars and services	10 - 15% usually included in restaurants, add 10 - 15% at bars	10 - 15% at restaurants and bars	Tip 5-10% in restaurants, cafés and bars	15-20% at restaurants, 1 USD per drink at bars
Taxi apps	Grab	None available	Bolt, Fotaxi	BiTaksi	Uber, Lyft
Tap water	Not drinkable	Not drinkable	Drinkable	Not drinkable	Drinkable
Overall cuisine	Meat and fish dishes, vegetables, noodles and soup	Bajan cuisine features an eclectic mix of European, Asian, and Caribbean styles resulting in bold, tasty and crunchy meat or fish dishes with lots of spices, lime juice, thyme and salads laden with local vegetables and hot side dishes.	Magyar cuisine makes extensive use of creams, cheeses and sauces primarily in beef, chicken and pork dishes, mixed with seasonal vegetables, fruits and rich desserts.	A fusion of cultures creates diverse dishes with bulgur, koftes, stews, eggplants and fish	American. Emphasis on comfort and fast food, with some good seafood dishes. Influence from other regions of the US, North America and the world make NYC a cosmopolitan and international cuisine hub that is incredibly diverse.
Local food specialities	Pad thai, tom yam, kway teow reua, som tum, sooan	Cou-cou and flying fish, fish cakes, cutters, pudding and souse, macaroni pie, conkies, Bajan black cake, sea eggs	Goulash, Fisherman's soup, Főzelék, Somloi Galuska, Pörkölt and Paprikás, Kürtös Kalács, Hungarian Lecsó, Lángos	Döner, İçli Köfte, Dondurma, Karnıyarık, Turkish delight	Pizza, clam chowder, bagels, corned beef, pastrami, cheesecake, hot dogs, and hundred of other international food options.
Eat like a local	Food stalls, local markets, shophouse restaurants	Food trucks, pubs, seaside street food, roadside carts, local seafood restaurants, smaller traditional restaurants and rum shops	Local markets, cafés, taverns, street food, traditional restaurants	Traditional breakfasts, street stalls for simit, lahmacun and kokorec, Turkish coffee	Delis, local pizza shops, street food stalls and food trucks, food markets, local bakeries and smaller, authentic international cuisine restaurants
Vegetarian / vegan options	416 listings on Happy Cow	14 options on HappyCow	47 options on HappyCow	59 listings on Happy Cow	309 options on HappyCow