Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ijmuiden and Nosara

For one person, living is cheaper in Nosara: $1,839 a month against $2,569 in Ijmuiden, rent and utilities included – about $8,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

122

Cost of Living Index in Ijmuiden
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Ijmuiden Living Index
89

Cost of Living Index in Nosara
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Nosara Living Index

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Ijmuiden

🇳🇱 Netherlands

$2,569

/mo nomad

Nosara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,839

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,569 in Ijmuiden versus $1,839 in Nosara.

Ijmuiden $2,569
Nosara $1,839

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,624 in Ijmuiden versus $2,828 in Nosara.

Ijmuiden $3,624
Nosara $2,828

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,679 in Ijmuiden versus $3,818 in Nosara.

Ijmuiden $4,679
Nosara $3,818

Living in Ijmuiden is roughly 40% more expensive than in Nosara, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Ijmuiden 90% above, Nosara 36% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$19.05 €16.94

$12.35 ₡5,539

54.25%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.2 €59.8

$61.2 ₡27.4K

9.86%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.25 €10.90

$7.52 ₡3,373

62.90%

Cappuccino

$4.42 €3.93

$4.41 ₡1,978

0.23%

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

$3.86 €3.43

$1.74 ₡780

121.84%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.10 €2.75

$1.31 ₡587

136.64%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.43 €3.05

$3.28 ₡1,471

4.57%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.94 €4.39

$4.47 ₡2,004

10.51%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.29 €1.15

$1.56 ₡701

-17.31%

White Bread (500g)

$2.42 €2.15

$3.02 ₡1,355

-19.87%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.68 €2.39

$2.51 ₡1,125

6.77%

Eggs

$4.55 €4.05

$3.57 ₡1,603

27.45%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$14.86 €13.22

$7.43 ₡3,333

100.00%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$13.72 €12.21

$10.52 ₡4,717

30.42%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.69 €13.96

$13.97 ₡6,265

12.31%

Apples (1kg)

$2.66 €2.37

$2.35 ₡1,052

13.19%

Banana (1kg)

$2.41 €2.15

$1.61 ₡720

49.69%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.97 €1.75

$4.80 ₡2,152

-58.96%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.28 €3.81

$1.61 ₡724

165.84%

Potato (1kg)

$1.92 €1.71

$3.80 ₡1,703

-49.47%

Onion (1kg)

$2.40 €2.14

$3.69 ₡1,657

-34.96%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.33 €1.18

$1.13 ₡507

17.70%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.83 €0.74

$2.66 ₡1,191

-68.80%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$14.13 €12.57

$5.18 ₡2,321

172.78%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.49 €5.78

$19.88 ₡8,916

-67.35%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.52 €1.36

$2.90 ₡1,300

-47.59%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.76 €2.45

$3.63 ₡1,626

-23.97%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.76 €3.34

$1.12 ₡504

235.71%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$98.1 €87.3

$72.6 ₡32.6K

35.04%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.18 €3.72

$2.14 ₡958

95.33%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.24 €2.88

$1.57 ₡703

106.37%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$28.13 €25.02

$8.52 ₡3,823

230.16%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.40 €2.13

$1.52 ₡682

57.89%

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

$42.0K €37.3K

$21.6K ₡9.7M

94.24%

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

$39.3K €34.9K

$34.5K ₡15.5M

13.73%

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

$296 €264

$96.3 ₡43.2K

207.71%

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

$17.14 €15.24

$35.89 ₡16.1K

-52.24%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$49.35 €43.90

$53.6 ₡24.0K

-7.91%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$36.66 €32.61

$71.6 ₡32.1K

-48.79%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.71 €21.09

$34.91 ₡15.7K

-32.08%

Cinema Ticket

$15.19 €13.51

$7.89 ₡3,539

92.52%

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

$1,252 €1,114

$494 ₡221.6K

153.44%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.2K €9,994

$11.9K ₡5.3M

-5.26%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$81.0 €72.1

$53.9 ₡24.2K

50.24%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.41 €34.16

$55.4 ₡24.8K

-30.68%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$112 €99.4

$77.9 ₡34.9K

43.47%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$125 €111

$79.6 ₡35.7K

57.15%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,593 €1,417

$788 ₡353.4K

102.13%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,213 €1,079

$794 ₡356.2K

52.74%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,726 €2,425

$3,939 ₡1.8M

-30.80%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,780 €1,583

$1,419 ₡636.5K

25.43%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,011 €5,346

$6,912 ₡3.1M

-13.04%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,400 €3,914

$1,224 ₡549.0K

259.45%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,196 €3,732

$864 ₡387.3K

385.87%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.5

8.62

-59.40%

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

Last update for Ijmuiden: October 12, 2026

Last update for Nosara: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Ijmuiden

$1.2K 47.2%

Nosara

$794 43.2% 34.5% $419

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ijmuiden

$363 14.1%

Nosara

$186 10.1% 48.8% $177

Groceries & Markets

Ijmuiden

$335 13.1%

Nosara

$352 19.2% 5.1% $17

Eating Out

Ijmuiden

$297 11.6%

Nosara

$212 11.5% 28.7% $85

Clothing & Footwear

Ijmuiden

$160 6.2%

Nosara

$120 6.5% 25.1% $40

Getting Around

Ijmuiden

$133 5.2%

Nosara

$87 4.7% 34.7% $46

Sport & Entertainment

Ijmuiden

$67 2.6%

Nosara

$87 4.8% 30.3% $20

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,593 in Ijmuiden and $788 in Nosara. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Ijmuiden pays 386% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $67.0 in Ijmuiden vs $61.0 in Nosara. Groceries flip the comparison at $335 vs $352, with Ijmuiden cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇳🇱 Ijmuiden

🇨🇷 Nosara

🕒 Local time

10:05 10:05 AM

02:05 2:05 AM

8 h behind Ijmuiden

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

31,307

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

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Highest

Between locations

Ijmuiden Nosara 9,150 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Ijmuiden
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

Ijmuiden vs Nosara: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Ijmuiden and Nosara differ by about 40% in total monthly costs ($2,569 vs $1,839 including rent). Nosara is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 386% higher in Ijmuiden, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,593 in Ijmuiden versus $788 in Nosara. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Nosara – a meal for two runs $61.0 versus $67.0 in Ijmuiden. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $2,569 per month in Ijmuiden versus $1,839 in Nosara – a 40% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,839 in Nosara versus $2,569 in Ijmuiden, a $3,000 budget is realistic in Nosara but tight or insufficient in Ijmuiden. The gap between the two cities makes Nosara the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

Safety-wise, Ijmuiden and Nosara are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Nosara gentler on the wallet – expenses run 40% less than in Ijmuiden. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.