Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Chatham and Nosara

For one person, living is cheaper in Nosara: $1,839 a month against $2,956 in Chatham, rent and utilities included – about $13,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

144

Cost of Living Index in Chatham
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Chatham Living Index
89

Cost of Living Index in Nosara
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Nosara Living Index

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Chatham

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,956

/mo nomad

Nosara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,839

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Chatham 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 Chatham and in Nosara actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $2,956 per month in Chatham vs $1,839 in Nosara, rent included.

Chatham $2,956
Nosara $1,839

A couple spends around $4,000 per month in Chatham vs $2,828 in Nosara, rent included.

Chatham $4,000
Nosara $2,828

A family of three spends $5,044 per month in Chatham vs $3,818 in Nosara, rent included.

Chatham $5,044
Nosara $3,818

Chatham costs about 61% more than Nosara, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in leisure.

Both Chatham and Nosara sit above the global median – Chatham by 119%, Nosara by 36%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.44 £10.08

$12.35 ₡5,539

8.83%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$93.5 £70.2

$61.2 ₡27.4K

52.88%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.77 £7.33

$7.52 ₡3,373

29.92%

Cappuccino

$3.58 £2.69

$4.41 ₡1,978

-18.82%

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

$2.95 £2.22

$1.74 ₡780

69.54%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.60 £1.20

$1.31 ₡587

22.14%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.26 £4.70

$3.28 ₡1,471

90.85%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.63 £4.97

$4.47 ₡2,004

48.32%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.87 £1.40

$1.56 ₡701

19.87%

White Bread (500g)

$2.05 £1.54

$3.02 ₡1,355

-32.12%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.13 £1.60

$2.51 ₡1,125

-15.14%

Eggs

$3.90 £2.93

$3.57 ₡1,603

9.24%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.54 £7.90

$7.43 ₡3,333

41.86%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.20 £6.90

$10.52 ₡4,717

-12.55%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.27 £11.46

$13.97 ₡6,265

9.31%

Apples (1kg)

$2.93 £2.20

$2.35 ₡1,052

24.68%

Banana (1kg)

$1.95 £1.46

$1.61 ₡720

21.12%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.61 £1.96

$4.80 ₡2,152

-45.63%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.60 £2.70

$1.61 ₡724

123.60%

Potato (1kg)

$1.97 £1.48

$3.80 ₡1,703

-48.16%

Onion (1kg)

$1.88 £1.41

$3.69 ₡1,657

-49.05%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.18 £0.88

$1.13 ₡507

4.42%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.63 £1.22

$2.66 ₡1,191

-38.72%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$21.41 £16.06

$5.18 ₡2,321

313.32%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.05 £8.29

$19.88 ₡8,916

-44.42%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.03 £2.27

$2.90 ₡1,300

4.48%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.40 £1.80

$3.63 ₡1,626

-33.88%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.02 £3.02

$1.12 ₡504

258.93%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$112 £84.3

$72.6 ₡32.6K

54.60%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.88 £3.66

$2.14 ₡958

128.04%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.72 £2.04

$1.57 ₡703

73.25%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$19.84 £14.88

$8.52 ₡3,823

132.86%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.97 £1.48

$1.52 ₡682

29.61%

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

$38.6K £29.0K

$21.6K ₡9.7M

78.82%

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

$36.7K £27.5K

$34.5K ₡15.5M

6.31%

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

$279 £209

$96.3 ₡43.2K

189.28%

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

$16.97 £12.73

$35.89 ₡16.1K

-52.72%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$26.03 £19.53

$53.6 ₡24.0K

-51.43%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$113 £85.1

$71.6 ₡32.1K

58.50%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$9.15 £6.87

$34.91 ₡15.7K

-73.79%

Cinema Ticket

$17.64 £13.24

$7.89 ₡3,539

123.57%

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

$2,046 £1,535

$494 ₡221.6K

314.01%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$30.6K £22.9K

$11.9K ₡5.3M

157.64%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$90.0 £67.5

$53.9 ₡24.2K

66.78%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$45.39 £34.06

$55.4 ₡24.8K

-18.08%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$102 £76.8

$77.9 ₡34.9K

31.39%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.1 £66.8

$79.6 ₡35.7K

11.86%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,044 £1,534

$788 ₡353.4K

159.40%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,632 £1,224

$794 ₡356.2K

105.42%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,470 £1,853

$3,939 ₡1.8M

-37.29%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,092 £1,569

$1,419 ₡636.5K

47.38%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,902 £5,928

$6,912 ₡3.1M

14.33%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$7,319 £5,491

$1,224 ₡549.0K

497.88%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,938 £2,204

$864 ₡387.3K

240.23%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.12

8.62

-40.60%

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

Last update for Chatham: October 13, 2026

Last update for Nosara: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Chatham

$1.6K 55.2%

Nosara

$794 43.2% 51.3% $837

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Chatham

$322 10.9%

Nosara

$186 10.1% 42.2% $136

Groceries & Markets

Chatham

$318 10.7%

Nosara

$352 19.2% 11% $35

Eating Out

Chatham

$243 8.2%

Nosara

$212 11.5% 12.7% $31

Sport & Entertainment

Chatham

$149 5%

Nosara

$87 4.8% 41.3% $61

Getting Around

Chatham

$147 5%

Nosara

$87 4.7% 40.7% $60

Clothing & Footwear

Chatham

$147 5%

Nosara

$120 6.5% 18.3% $27

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $2,044 in Chatham 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 240% higher in Chatham, 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 $94.0 in Chatham versus $61.0 in Nosara. Groceries tell a different story – $318 in Chatham vs $352 in Nosara – so Chatham wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Chatham

🇨🇷 Nosara

🕒 Local time

10:06 10:06 AM

03:06 3:06 AM

7 h behind Chatham

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

76,792

4,912

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.33 USD

1 GBP = 1.19 EUR

1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CRC, USD, EUR to GBP – British Pound Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇬🇧 British Pound (£)

British Pound exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 0.75 GBP (1 GBP = 1.33 USD). 1 EUR = 0.843 GBP (1 GBP = 1.19 EUR).

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 GBP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Chatham Nosara 8,880 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Chatham
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

Chatham vs Nosara: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Chatham costs about 61% 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 $4,434 per month in Chatham 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 $2,956 in Chatham and $1,839 in Nosara. That's a gap of about 61%.

Public transport costs about 55% 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 Chatham at $2,956. In Nosara it covers expenses comfortably, while in Chatham it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Nosara costs $1,839 versus $2,956 in Chatham. 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, Chatham makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.