Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Merthyr Tydfil and Nosara

For one person, living is cheaper in Nosara: $1,839 a month against $2,067 in Merthyr Tydfil, rent and utilities included – about $2,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

100

Cost of Living Index in Merthyr Tydfil
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Merthyr Tydfil Living Index
89

Cost of Living Index in Nosara
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Nosara Living Index

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Merthyr Tydfil

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,067

/mo nomad

Nosara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,839

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $2,067 per month in Merthyr Tydfil vs $1,839 in Nosara, rent included.

Merthyr Tydfil $2,067
Nosara $1,839

A couple spends around $2,860 per month in Merthyr Tydfil vs $2,828 in Nosara, rent included.

Merthyr Tydfil $2,860
Nosara $2,828

A family of three spends $3,654 per month in Merthyr Tydfil vs $3,818 in Nosara, rent included.

Merthyr Tydfil $3,654
Nosara $3,818

Merthyr Tydfil costs about 12% more than Nosara, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Merthyr Tydfil and Nosara sit above the global median – Merthyr Tydfil by 53%, Nosara by 36%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$23.35 £17.52

$12.35 ₡5,539

89.07%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.9 £46.41

$61.2 ₡27.4K

1.11%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.50 £7.88

$7.52 ₡3,373

39.63%

Cappuccino

$4.62 £3.46

$4.41 ₡1,978

4.76%

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

$2.50 £1.87

$1.74 ₡780

43.68%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.70 £1.27

$1.31 ₡587

29.77%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.33 £4.75

$3.28 ₡1,471

92.99%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.76 £4.32

$4.47 ₡2,004

28.86%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.38 £1.04

$1.56 ₡701

-11.54%

White Bread (500g)

$0.60 £0.45

$3.02 ₡1,355

-80.13%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.69 £1.27

$2.51 ₡1,125

-32.67%

Eggs

$4.07 £3.05

$3.57 ₡1,603

14.01%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.31 £6.24

$7.43 ₡3,333

11.84%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.83 £6.63

$10.52 ₡4,717

-16.06%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.98 £9.74

$13.97 ₡6,265

-7.09%

Apples (1kg)

$2.66 £1.99

$2.35 ₡1,052

13.19%

Banana (1kg)

$1.71 £1.28

$1.61 ₡720

6.21%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.59 £1.94

$4.80 ₡2,152

-46.04%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.20 £2.40

$1.61 ₡724

98.76%

Potato (1kg)

$1.22 £0.91

$3.80 ₡1,703

-67.89%

Onion (1kg)

$1.33 £1.00

$3.69 ₡1,657

-63.96%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.16 £0.87

$1.13 ₡507

2.65%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.08 £0.81

$2.66 ₡1,191

-59.40%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$22.78 £17.09

$5.18 ₡2,321

339.77%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.38 £7.79

$19.88 ₡8,916

-47.79%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.75 £2.06

$2.90 ₡1,300

-5.17%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.53 £2.65

$3.63 ₡1,626

-2.75%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.12 ₡504

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$97.5 £73.1

$72.6 ₡32.6K

34.17%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.52 £2.64

$2.14 ₡958

64.49%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.68 £1.26

$1.57 ₡703

7.01%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$26.25 £19.69

$8.52 ₡3,823

208.10%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.06 £1.54

$1.52 ₡682

35.53%

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

$38.9K £29.2K

$21.6K ₡9.7M

79.94%

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

$39.7K £29.8K

$34.5K ₡15.5M

15.08%

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

$314 £236

$96.3 ₡43.2K

226.20%

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

$13.39 £10.04

$35.89 ₡16.1K

-62.69%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$36.97 £27.74

$53.6 ₡24.0K

-31.01%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$39.66 £29.75

$71.6 ₡32.1K

-44.60%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$34.91 ₡15.7K

Cinema Ticket

$7.81 £5.86

$7.89 ₡3,539

-1.01%

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

$2,255 £1,692

$494 ₡221.6K

356.45%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$24.7K £18.5K

$11.9K ₡5.3M

108.30%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 £76.5

$53.9 ₡24.2K

89.10%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$48.36 £36.28

$55.4 ₡24.8K

-12.72%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$105 £78.6

$77.9 ₡34.9K

34.54%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$96.9 £72.7

$79.6 ₡35.7K

21.76%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$784 £588

$788 ₡353.4K

-0.53%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$779 £585

$794 ₡356.2K

-1.88%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,144 £859

$3,939 ₡1.8M

-70.95%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$989 £742

$1,419 ₡636.5K

-30.31%

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)

$1,581 £1,186

$864 ₡387.3K

83.11%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.87

8.62

-43.50%

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

Last update for Merthyr Tydfil: 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

Merthyr Tydfil

$779 37.7%

Nosara

$794 43.2% 1.9% $15

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Merthyr Tydfil

$364 17.6%

Nosara

$186 10.1% 49% $179

Eating Out

Merthyr Tydfil

$334 16.1%

Nosara

$212 11.5% 36.5% $122

Groceries & Markets

Merthyr Tydfil

$266 12.9%

Nosara

$352 19.2% 32.3% $86

Clothing & Footwear

Merthyr Tydfil

$158 7.7%

Nosara

$120 6.5% 24.2% $38

Getting Around

Merthyr Tydfil

$109 * 5.3%

Nosara

$87 4.7% 20.4% $22

Sport & Entertainment

Merthyr Tydfil

$55 2.7%

Nosara

$87 4.8% 58% $32

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $784 in Merthyr Tydfil 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 83% higher in Merthyr Tydfil, 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 $62.0 in Merthyr Tydfil versus $61.0 in Nosara. Groceries tell a different story – $266 in Merthyr Tydfil vs $352 in Nosara – so Merthyr Tydfil wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Merthyr Tydfil

🇨🇷 Nosara

🕒 Local time

21:01 9:01 PM

14:01 2:01 PM

7 h behind Merthyr Tydfil

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

43,820

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 17, 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 17, 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

Merthyr Tydfil Nosara 8,610 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Merthyr Tydfil
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

Merthyr Tydfil vs Nosara: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $2,067 in Merthyr Tydfil, $1,839 in Nosara – roughly 12% apart. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $3,100 per month in Merthyr Tydfil 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.

Public transport costs about 34% less in Nosara. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

Kindergarten costs $2,255 per month in Merthyr Tydfil and $494 in Nosara. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $3,000 monthly budget goes further in Nosara, where all-in costs run around $1,839, than in Merthyr Tydfil at $2,067. In Nosara it covers expenses comfortably, while in Merthyr Tydfil it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

It depends on your priorities. Nosara has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $1,839 in Nosara to $2,067 in Merthyr Tydfil. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

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, Merthyr Tydfil makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.