Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lerwick and Nosara

For one person, living is cheaper in Nosara: $1,835 a month against $2,368 in Lerwick, rent and utilities included – about $6,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

114

Cost of Living Index in Lerwick
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Lerwick Living Index
89

Cost of Living Index in Nosara
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Nosara Living Index

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Lerwick

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,368

/mo nomad

Nosara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,835

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,368 in Lerwick versus $1,835 in Nosara.

Lerwick $2,368
Nosara $1,835

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,415 in Lerwick versus $2,825 in Nosara.

Lerwick $3,415
Nosara $2,825

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,462 in Lerwick versus $3,814 in Nosara.

Lerwick $4,462
Nosara $3,814

Living in Lerwick is roughly 29% more expensive than in Nosara, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Lerwick 75% above, Nosara 35% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$20.15 £15.11

$12.34 ₡5,535

63.29%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$98.5 £73.9

$61.3 ₡27.5K

60.67%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.35 £7.76

$7.76 ₡3,481

33.38%

Cappuccino

$5.40 £4.05

$4.44 ₡1,992

21.62%

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

$2.25 £1.69

$1.79 ₡803

25.70%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.64 £1.23

$1.29 ₡580

27.13%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.45 £4.84

$3.24 ₡1,451

99.07%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.86 £4.40

$4.43 ₡1,985

32.28%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.55 £1.16

$1.55 ₡696

White Bread (500g)

$1.69 £1.27

$3.08 ₡1,380

-45.13%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.21 £1.66

$2.53 ₡1,133

-12.65%

Eggs

$4.02 £3.02

$3.45 ₡1,546

16.52%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.37 £7.03

$7.32 ₡3,284

28.01%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.57 £6.43

$10.24 ₡4,594

-16.31%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.44 £10.84

$14.10 ₡6,326

2.41%

Apples (1kg)

$3.03 £2.27

$2.29 ₡1,027

32.31%

Banana (1kg)

$1.51 £1.13

$1.64 ₡737

-7.93%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.76 £2.07

$4.79 ₡2,149

-42.38%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.28 £2.46

$1.64 ₡735

100.00%

Potato (1kg)

$1.83 £1.37

$3.85 ₡1,727

-52.47%

Onion (1kg)

$1.71 £1.28

$3.75 ₡1,681

-54.40%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.26 £0.95

$1.09 ₡488

15.60%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.55 £1.16

$2.59 ₡1,160

-40.15%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$24.02 £18.02

$5.12 ₡2,295

369.14%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.48 £7.86

$19.92 ₡8,931

-47.39%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.00 £2.25

$2.80 ₡1,255

7.14%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.27 £2.46

$3.52 ₡1,580

-7.10%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.07 £2.30

$1.22 ₡549

151.64%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$83.1 £62.3

$73.9 ₡33.1K

12.42%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.23 £3.18

$2.17 ₡973

94.93%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.35 £1.76

$1.56 ₡698

50.64%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$24.03 £18.03

$8.67 ₡3,886

177.16%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.34 £1.75

$1.55 ₡697

50.97%

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

$38.9K £29.2K

$34.5K ₡15.5M

12.53%

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

$34.5K £25.9K

$38.7K ₡17.4M

-11.05%

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

$309 £232

$94.8 ₡42.5K

226.38%

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

$19.33 £14.50

$36.15 ₡16.2K

-46.53%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$45.26 £33.95

$53.1 ₡23.8K

-14.70%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$52.8 £39.61

$73.8 ₡33.1K

-28.45%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$35.63 ₡16.0K

Cinema Ticket

$13.32 £9.99

$7.91 ₡3,548

68.39%

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

$1,392 £1,045

$490 ₡219.9K

184.01%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$24.5K £18.4K

$11.9K ₡5.3M

105.92%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$88.7 £66.5

$54.8 ₡24.6K

61.84%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$50.6 £37.93

$55.9 ₡25.1K

-9.52%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$89.1 £66.8

$80.4 ₡36.0K

10.85%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$110 £82.8

$77.9 ₡34.9K

41.71%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,112 £834

$801 ₡359.1K

38.89%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,036 £777

$790 ₡354.1K

31.18%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,395 £1,797

$4,005 ₡1.8M

-40.20%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,523 £1,143

$1,409 ₡632.0K

8.08%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,646 £3,486

$7,064 ₡3.2M

-34.23%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,438 £2,579

$1,236 ₡554.3K

178.19%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$887 ₡397.6K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.09

8.62

-40.95%

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

Last update for Lerwick: October 18, 2026

Last update for Nosara: October 20, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lerwick

$1K 43.7%

Nosara

$790 43% 23.8% $246

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lerwick

$374 15.8%

Nosara

$184 10% 50.8% $190

Eating Out

Lerwick

$317 13.4%

Nosara

$213 11.6% 32.8% $104

Groceries & Markets

Lerwick

$298 12.6%

Nosara

$350 19.1% 17.2% $51

Clothing & Footwear

Lerwick

$152 6.4%

Nosara

$121 6.6% 20.6% $31

Getting Around

Lerwick

$111 4.7%

Nosara

$89 4.8% 20.3% $23

Sport & Entertainment

Lerwick

$79 3.4%

Nosara

$90 4.9% 12.8% $10

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,112 in Lerwick and $801 in Nosara. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $99.0 in Lerwick vs $61.0 in Nosara. Groceries flip the comparison at $298 vs $350, with Lerwick cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Lerwick

🇨🇷 Nosara

🕒 Local time

21:22 9:22 PM

14:22 2:22 PM

7 h behind Lerwick

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

7,000

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 20, 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 20, 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

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Between locations

Lerwick Nosara 8,740 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Lerwick
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

Lerwick vs Nosara: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Nosara is cheaper overall, especially in eating out, clothing, and transport. The 29% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You'd need roughly $3,552 in Lerwick and $2,753 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: $1,112 in Lerwick versus $801 in Nosara. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $2,368 per month in Lerwick versus $1,835 in Nosara – a 29% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Nosara runs roughly 12% less than in Lerwick. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $1,835 in Nosara versus $2,368 in Lerwick, a $3,000 budget is realistic in Nosara but tight or insufficient in Lerwick. The gap between the two cities makes Nosara the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Nosara is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Lerwick, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Lerwick 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 29% less than in Lerwick. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.