Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Janub-as-surrah and Nosara

For one person, living is cheaper in Janub-as-surrah: $1,266 a month against $1,839 in Nosara, rent and utilities included – about $6,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

63

Cost of Living Index in Janub-as-surrah
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Janub-as-surrah Living Index
89

Cost of Living Index in Nosara
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Nosara Living Index

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Janub-as-surrah

🇰🇼 Kuwait

$1,266

/mo nomad

Nosara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,839

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,266 in Janub-as-surrah versus $1,839 in Nosara.

Janub-as-surrah $1,266
Nosara $1,839

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,141 in Janub-as-surrah versus $2,828 in Nosara.

Janub-as-surrah $2,141
Nosara $2,828

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,015 in Janub-as-surrah versus $3,818 in Nosara.

Janub-as-surrah $3,015
Nosara $3,818

Living in Janub-as-surrah costs roughly 31% less than in Nosara, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Janub-as-surrah is 6% below, Nosara is 36% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.80 KWD 2.71

$12.35 ₡5,539

-28.74%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$66.2 KWD 20.39

$61.2 ₡27.4K

8.19%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.28 KWD 2.55

$7.52 ₡3,373

10.11%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.22 KWD 0.99

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.06 KWD 0.94

Cappuccino

$5.56 KWD 1.71

$4.41 ₡1,978

26.08%

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

$0.52 KWD 0.16

$1.74 ₡780

-70.11%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.30 KWD 0.09

$1.31 ₡587

-77.10%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.28 ₡1,471

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.47 ₡2,004

Milk (1 liter)

$1.29 KWD 0.40

$1.56 ₡701

-17.31%

White Bread (500g)

$0.90 KWD 0.28

$3.02 ₡1,355

-70.20%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.82 KWD 0.56

$2.51 ₡1,125

-27.49%

Eggs

$1.88 KWD 0.58

$3.57 ₡1,603

-47.34%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$4.86 KWD 1.50

$7.43 ₡3,333

-34.59%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.22 KWD 1.92

$10.52 ₡4,717

-40.87%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.68 KWD 2.98

$13.97 ₡6,265

-30.71%

Apples (1kg)

$2.24 KWD 0.69

$2.35 ₡1,052

-4.68%

Banana (1kg)

$1.90 KWD 0.59

$1.61 ₡720

18.01%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.35 KWD 0.42

$4.80 ₡2,152

-71.88%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.71 KWD 0.53

$1.61 ₡724

6.21%

Potato (1kg)

$1.34 KWD 0.41

$3.80 ₡1,703

-64.74%

Onion (1kg)

$0.86 KWD 0.27

$3.69 ₡1,657

-76.69%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.42 KWD 0.44

$1.13 ₡507

25.66%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.54 KWD 0.17

$2.66 ₡1,191

-79.70%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$3.08 KWD 0.95

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.92 KWD 0.28

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.30 KWD 0.40

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.39 KWD 0.74

$5.18 ₡2,321

-53.86%

Wine (Bottle)

$19.88 ₡8,916

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.90 ₡1,300

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.63 ₡1,626

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.80 KWD 0.25

$1.12 ₡504

-28.57%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$72.6 ₡32.6K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.17 KWD 0.98

$2.14 ₡958

48.13%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.34 KWD 1.03

$1.57 ₡703

112.74%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$15.85 KWD 4.88

$8.52 ₡3,823

86.03%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.34 KWD 0.10

$1.52 ₡682

-77.63%

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

$20.3K KWD 6,249

$21.6K ₡9.7M

-6.14%

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

$21.0K KWD 6,469

$34.5K ₡15.5M

-39.17%

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

$71.9 KWD 22.17

$96.3 ₡43.2K

-25.29%

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

$21.29 KWD 6.56

$35.89 ₡16.1K

-40.68%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.26 KWD 9.94

$53.6 ₡24.0K

-39.80%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$92.8 KWD 28.58

$71.6 ₡32.1K

29.56%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$34.91 ₡15.7K

Cinema Ticket

$11.56 KWD 3.56

$7.89 ₡3,539

46.51%

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

$306 KWD 94.2

$494 ₡221.6K

-38.15%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,692 KWD 2,062

$11.9K ₡5.3M

-43.57%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$42.91 KWD 13.22

$53.9 ₡24.2K

-20.45%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.90 KWD 12.91

$55.4 ₡24.8K

-24.38%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$90.2 KWD 27.79

$77.9 ₡34.9K

15.76%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$81.8 KWD 25.21

$79.6 ₡35.7K

2.78%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$760 KWD 234

$788 ₡353.4K

-3.50%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$555 KWD 171

$794 ₡356.2K

-30.08%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,534 KWD 473

$3,939 ₡1.8M

-61.06%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,258 KWD 388

$1,419 ₡636.5K

-11.33%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,912 ₡3.1M

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,224 ₡549.0K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$864 ₡387.3K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.53

8.62

-24.25%

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

Last update for Janub-as-surrah: 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

Janub-as-surrah

$555 43.9%

Nosara

$794 43.2% 43% $239

Groceries & Markets

Janub-as-surrah

$166 13.1%

Nosara

$352 19.2% 112% $186

Eating Out

Janub-as-surrah

$165 13%

Nosara

$212 11.5% 28.2% $47

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Janub-as-surrah

$125 9.9%

Nosara

$186 10.1% 48% $60

Sport & Entertainment

Janub-as-surrah

$116 9.2%

Nosara

$87 4.8% 24.6% $29

Clothing & Footwear

Janub-as-surrah

$116 9.1%

Nosara

$120 6.5% 3.9% $4.5

Getting Around

Janub-as-surrah

$23 * 1.8%

Nosara

$87 4.7% 277% $64

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

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $760 in Janub-as-surrah and $788 in Nosara. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $66.0 in Janub-as-surrah vs $61.0 in Nosara. Groceries flip the comparison at $166 vs $352, with Janub-as-surrah cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇰🇼 Janub-as-surrah

🇨🇷 Nosara

🕒 Local time

08:15 8:15 AM

23:15 11:15 PM

9 h behind Janub-as-surrah

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

18,496

4,912

💱 Currency

Kuwaiti Dinar KWD د.ك

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

📈 Exchange rate

1 KWD = 3.25 USD

1 KWD = 2.89 EUR

1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CRC, USD, EUR to KWD – Kuwaiti Dinar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇰🇼 Kuwaiti Dinar (د.ك)

Kuwaiti Dinar exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 0.308 KWD (1 KWD = 3.25 USD). 1 EUR = 0.346 KWD (1 KWD = 2.89 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 KWD in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Janub-as-surrah Nosara 13,400 km ≈ 17 h nonstop flight

From you

Janub-as-surrah
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

Janub-as-surrah vs Nosara: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Janub-as-surrah wins on cost – living expenses run 45% lower than in Nosara. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Janub-as-surrah the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

You'd need roughly $1,900 in Janub-as-surrah and $2,758 in Nosara to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $760 in Janub-as-surrah versus $788 in Nosara. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 112% higher in Nosara. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $1,266 per month in Janub-as-surrah versus $1,839 in Nosara – a 45% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,266 in Janub-as-surrah versus $1,839 in Nosara, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Janub-as-surrah but tight or insufficient in Nosara. The gap between the two cities makes Janub-as-surrah the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Janub-as-surrah delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $1,266 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Janub-as-surrah hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Janub-as-surrah 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 Janub-as-surrah gentler on the wallet – expenses run 45% less than in Nosara. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.