Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Arlon and Nosara

For one person, living is cheaper in Nosara: $1,839 a month against $2,039 in Arlon, rent and utilities included – about $2,400 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Arlon outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

99

Cost of Living Index in Arlon
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Arlon Living Index
89

Cost of Living Index in Nosara
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Nosara Living Index

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Arlon

🇧🇪 Belgium

$2,039

/mo nomad

Nosara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,839

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Arlon and in Nosara

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Arlon and in Nosara actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $2,039 per month in Arlon vs $1,839 in Nosara, rent included.

Arlon $2,039
Nosara $1,839

A couple spends around $3,127 per month in Arlon vs $2,828 in Nosara, rent included.

Arlon $3,127
Nosara $2,828

A family of three spends $4,215 per month in Arlon vs $3,818 in Nosara, rent included.

Arlon $4,215
Nosara $3,818

Arlon costs about 11% more than Nosara, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in leisure.

Both Arlon and Nosara sit above the global median – Arlon by 51%, Nosara by 36%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.62 €14.79

$12.35 ₡5,539

34.57%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$90.7 €80.7

$61.2 ₡27.4K

48.20%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.24 €9.99

$7.52 ₡3,373

49.47%

Cappuccino

$2.73 €2.42

$4.41 ₡1,978

-38.10%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.68 €2.39

$1.74 ₡780

54.02%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.63 €2.34

$1.31 ₡587

100.76%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.44 €3.06

$3.28 ₡1,471

4.88%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.51 €4.02

$4.47 ₡2,004

0.89%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.19 €1.06

$1.56 ₡701

-23.72%

White Bread (500g)

$1.52 €1.35

$3.02 ₡1,355

-49.67%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.36 €2.10

$2.51 ₡1,125

-5.98%

Eggs

$3.74 €3.33

$3.57 ₡1,603

4.76%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$14.70 €13.07

$7.43 ₡3,333

97.85%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.59 €10.31

$10.52 ₡4,717

10.17%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.78 €13.15

$13.97 ₡6,265

5.80%

Apples (1kg)

$3.01 €2.67

$2.35 ₡1,052

28.09%

Banana (1kg)

$1.08 €0.96

$1.61 ₡720

-32.92%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.24 €1.99

$4.80 ₡2,152

-53.33%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.01 €2.68

$1.61 ₡724

86.96%

Potato (1kg)

$1.63 €1.45

$3.80 ₡1,703

-57.11%

Onion (1kg)

$2.05 €1.83

$3.69 ₡1,657

-44.44%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.78 €1.58

$1.13 ₡507

57.52%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.10 €0.97

$2.66 ₡1,191

-58.65%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$9.16 €8.15

$5.18 ₡2,321

76.83%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.84 €6.98

$19.88 ₡8,916

-60.56%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.96 €1.74

$2.90 ₡1,300

-32.41%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.10 €0.98

$3.63 ₡1,626

-69.70%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.25 €2.00

$1.12 ₡504

100.89%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$40.97 €36.44

$72.6 ₡32.6K

-43.60%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.97 €3.53

$2.14 ₡958

85.51%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.66 €2.36

$1.57 ₡703

69.43%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.65 €14.81

$8.52 ₡3,823

95.42%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.92 €1.71

$1.52 ₡682

26.32%

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$34.9K €31.0K

$21.6K ₡9.7M

61.30%

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$33.8K €30.0K

$34.5K ₡15.5M

-2.19%

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$266 €237

$96.3 ₡43.2K

176.59%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$24.65 €21.93

$35.89 ₡16.1K

-31.32%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$51.2 €45.51

$53.6 ₡24.0K

-4.52%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$71.6 ₡32.1K

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.08 €21.42

$34.91 ₡15.7K

-31.02%

Cinema Ticket

$8.73 €7.76

$7.89 ₡3,539

10.65%

Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)

$851 €757

$494 ₡221.6K

72.27%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.9K ₡5.3M

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$84.2 €74.9

$53.9 ₡24.2K

56.03%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$50.9 €45.27

$55.4 ₡24.8K

-8.16%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$50.9 €45.30

$77.9 ₡34.9K

-34.64%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$113 €100

$79.6 ₡35.7K

41.75%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$896 €797

$788 ₡353.4K

13.65%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$930 €827

$794 ₡356.2K

17.12%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,694 €1,506

$3,939 ₡1.8M

-57.01%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,698 €1,510

$1,419 ₡636.5K

19.64%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,263 €3,792

$6,912 ₡3.1M

-38.33%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,961 €3,523

$1,224 ₡549.0K

223.55%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,890 €2,570

$864 ₡387.3K

234.62%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.65

8.62

-57.66%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Arlon: October 11, 2026

Last update for Nosara: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Accommodation & Living

Arlon

$930 45.6%

Nosara

$794 43.2% 14.6% $136

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Arlon

$342 16.8%

Nosara

$186 10.1% 45.7% $156

Groceries & Markets

Arlon

$300 14.7%

Nosara

$352 19.2% 17.3% $52

Eating Out

Arlon

$247 12.1%

Nosara

$212 11.5% 14.2% $35

Clothing & Footwear

Arlon

$134 6.6%

Nosara

$120 6.5% 10.7% $14

Getting Around

Arlon

$67 3.3%

Nosara

$87 4.7% 29.6% $20

Sport & Entertainment

Arlon

$17 * 0.9%

Nosara

$87 4.8% 401% $70

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $896 in Arlon versus $788 in Nosara. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 235% higher in Arlon, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $91.0 in Arlon versus $61.0 in Nosara. Groceries tell a different story – $300 in Arlon vs $352 in Nosara – so Arlon wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇧🇪 Arlon

🇨🇷 Nosara

🕒 Local time

13:00 1:00 PM

05:00 5:00 AM

8 h behind Arlon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

28,759

4,912

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CRC, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Costa Rican Colón exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 448 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD). 1 EUR = 504 CRC (1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Arlon Nosara 9,270 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Arlon
Nosara

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Arlon vs Nosara: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Arlon costs about 11% more than Nosara, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from leisure. That's enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $3,058 per month in Arlon and $2,758 in Nosara. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Nosara, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $2,039 in Arlon and $1,839 in Nosara. That's a gap of about 11%.

Public transport costs about 77% less in Nosara. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

A $3,000 monthly budget goes further in Nosara, where all-in costs run around $1,839, than in Arlon at $2,039. In Nosara it covers expenses comfortably, while in Arlon it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Nosara costs $1,839 versus $2,039 in Arlon. Both have workable remote work infrastructure, but the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

If budget matters most, go with Nosara. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Arlon makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.