Berlin vs New York City vs Panama City vs Playa del Carmen vs Rio de Janeiro

	Berlin 🇩🇪 Remove	New York City 🇺🇸 Remove	Panama City 🇵🇦 Remove	Playa del Carmen 🇲🇽 Remove	Rio de Janeiro 🇧🇷 Remove
Population	3,400,000	8,323,340	880,691	259,453	6,718,903
Official language(s)	German	English (de facto)	Spanish	Spanish	Portuguese
Level of English	Very high	Very high	Low	Moderate	Low
Main airport	Berlin Tegel (TXL)	John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK)	Tocumen International Airport (PTY)	Cancun International Airport (CUN)	Galeão International Airport
Most common months to visit	May - September	April - June, September - November	December - April	January - May, October - December	January - March, December
Currency	EUR - Euro (€)	USD - US Dollar ($)	PAB - Panamanian Balboa (B/.)	MXN - Mexican Peso ($)	BRL - Brazilian Real (R$)
Credit cards	Accepted in some places but cash often preferred	Accepted everywhere	Accepted almost everywhere but not in smaller shops.	Accepted almost everywhere	Accepted everywhere
Remote worker visa	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No
Average monthly costs	$2200	$5431	$2359	$2143	$1833
Rent	$939	$2891	$1036	$923	$1066
Groceries	$188	$383	$236	$127	$95
Dining out	$271	$656	$371	$207	$210
Cafe	$57	$72	$43	$42	$25
Coworking space	$174	$326	$157	$160	$130
Mobile internet	$23	$45	$21	$21	$7
Public transportation	$88	$220	$12	$17	$33
Taxis	$58	$78	$48	$9	$14
Shared bicycles and scooters	$17	$30	$0	$49	$16
Sport and cultural events	$64	$100	$35	$97	$55
Museums and sights	$37	$74	$9	$217	$26
Nightlife	$63	$195	$117	$77	$54
Gym	$66	$55	$37	$42	$31
Yoga	$99	$197	$163	$54	$40
Massage	$56	$109	$75	$101	$32
SIM card options	Deutsche Telekom, Vodafone	AT&T, Verizon	Claro, Movistar	Telcel, Movistar	Tim, Claro, Vivo
Tipping	Round up for restaurants, not common for bars and services	15-20% at restaurants, 1 USD per drink 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	Mytaxi, Uber	Uber, Lyft	Uber, Tu Chofer	N/A	Easy Taxi, 99 Taxi, Uber
Tap water	Drinkable	Drinkable	Not drinkable	Not drinkable	Not drinkable
Overall cuisine	Heavy and hearty meals with plenty of meat, potatoes and bread	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.	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	Currywurst, spätzle, königsberger klopse, schnitzel, eisbein, doner kebab, pretzels	Pizza, clam chowder, bagels, corned beef, pastrami, cheesecake, hot dogs, and hundred of other international food options.	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	Brew pubs, cafes, bars, deli shops	Delis, local pizza shops, street food stalls and food trucks, food markets, local bakeries and smaller, authentic international cuisine restaurants	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	844 listings on Happy Cow	309 options on HappyCow	7 options on HappyCow	72 listings on Happy Cow	54 options on Happy Cow