Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Nosara and Harlow

For one person, living is cheaper in Nosara: $1,839 a month against $2,320 in Harlow, rent and utilities included – about $5,800 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Harlow outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

89

Cost of Living Index in Nosara
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Nosara Living Index
113

Cost of Living Index in Harlow
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Harlow Living Index

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Nosara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,839

/mo nomad

Harlow

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,320

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Nosara and in Harlow

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Nosara and in Harlow actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,839 in Nosara versus $2,320 in Harlow.

Nosara $1,839
Harlow $2,320

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,828 in Nosara versus $3,416 in Harlow.

Nosara $2,828
Harlow $3,416

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,818 in Nosara versus $4,513 in Harlow.

Nosara $3,818
Harlow $4,513

Living in Nosara costs roughly 21% less than in Harlow, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Nosara 36% above, Harlow 72% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.35 ₡5,539

$21.12 £15.84

-41.52%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.2 ₡27.4K

$93.0 £69.7

-34.18%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.52 ₡3,373

$10.72 £8.04

-29.85%

Cappuccino

$4.41 ₡1,978

$5.71 £4.28

-22.77%

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

$1.74 ₡780

$2.61 £1.96

-33.33%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.31 ₡587

$1.79 £1.34

-26.82%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.28 ₡1,471

$6.71 £5.03

-51.12%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.47 ₡2,004

$6.81 £5.11

-34.36%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.56 ₡701

$1.35 £1.01

15.56%

White Bread (500g)

$3.02 ₡1,355

$1.38 £1.03

118.84%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.51 ₡1,125

$1.10 £0.82

128.18%

Eggs

$3.57 ₡1,603

$2.35 £1.76

51.91%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.43 ₡3,333

$6.66 £5.00

11.56%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.52 ₡4,717

$6.12 £4.59

71.90%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.97 ₡6,265

$6.73 £5.05

107.58%

Apples (1kg)

$2.35 ₡1,052

$2.03 £1.52

15.76%

Banana (1kg)

$1.61 ₡720

$1.18 £0.88

36.44%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.80 ₡2,152

$1.15 £0.86

317.39%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.61 ₡724

$1.95 £1.47

-17.44%

Potato (1kg)

$3.80 ₡1,703

$1.58 £1.19

140.51%

Onion (1kg)

$3.69 ₡1,657

$1.33 £1.00

177.44%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.13 ₡507

$1.35 £1.01

-16.30%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.66 ₡1,191

$1.48 £1.11

79.73%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.18 ₡2,321

$20.83 £15.63

-75.13%

Wine (Bottle)

$19.88 ₡8,916

$9.04 £6.78

119.91%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.90 ₡1,300

$2.72 £2.04

6.62%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.63 ₡1,626

$1.93 £1.45

88.08%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.12 ₡504

$2.63 £1.97

-57.41%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$72.6 ₡32.6K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.14 ₡958

$5.84 £4.38

-63.36%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.57 ₡703

$1.62 £1.22

-3.09%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.52 ₡3,823

$21.14 £15.86

-59.70%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.52 ₡682

$1.85 £1.38

-17.84%

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

$21.6K ₡9.7M

$37.4K £28.0K

-42.21%

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

$34.5K ₡15.5M

$41.1K £30.8K

-15.92%

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

$96.3 ₡43.2K

$220 £165

-56.14%

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

$35.89 ₡16.1K

$11.73 £8.80

205.97%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$53.6 ₡24.0K

$28.08 £21.07

90.85%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$71.6 ₡32.1K

$45.62 £34.22

56.93%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$34.91 ₡15.7K

$8.11 £6.09

330.46%

Cinema Ticket

$7.89 ₡3,539

$12.56 £9.43

-37.18%

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

$494 ₡221.6K

$1,062 £797

-53.46%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.9K ₡5.3M

$20.0K £15.0K

-40.63%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.9 ₡24.2K

$69.9 £52.4

-22.81%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$55.4 ₡24.8K

$31.69 £23.77

74.85%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$77.9 ₡34.9K

$77.1 £57.8

1.13%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$79.6 ₡35.7K

$37.87 £28.41

110.22%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$788 ₡353.4K

$1,397 £1,048

-43.59%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$794 ₡356.2K

$1,324 £993

-39.99%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,939 ₡1.8M

$2,253 £1,690

74.83%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,419 ₡636.5K

$2,211 £1,659

-35.81%

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

$2,992 £2,245

-71.14%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.62

4.91

75.56%

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

Last update for Nosara: October 11, 2026

Last update for Harlow: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Nosara

$794 43.2%

Harlow

$1.3K 57.1% 66.6% $529

Groceries & Markets

Nosara

$352 19.2%

Harlow

$209 9% 40.5% $143

Eating Out

Nosara

$212 11.5%

Harlow

$334 14.4% 57.9% $123

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Nosara

$186 10.1%

Harlow

$259 11.2% 39.6% $74

Clothing & Footwear

Nosara

$120 6.5%

Harlow

$97 4.2% 18.9% $23

Sport & Entertainment

Nosara

$87 4.8%

Harlow

$71 3.1% 19% $17

Getting Around

Nosara

$87 4.7%

Harlow

$24 * 1.1% 71.9% $63

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 $788 in Nosara and $1,397 in Harlow. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Harlow pays 247% 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: $61.0 in Nosara vs $93.0 in Harlow. Groceries flip the comparison at $352 vs $209, with Harlow cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇨🇷 Nosara

🇬🇧 Harlow

🕒 Local time

16:47 4:47 PM

23:47 11:47 PM

7 h ahead of Nosara

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

4,912

86,191

💱 Currency

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

British Pound GBP £

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR

1 GBP = 1.33 USD

1 GBP = 1.19 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

GBP, USD, EUR to CRC – Costa Rican Colón Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇷 Costa Rican Colón (₡)

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).

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).

USD to CRC in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Nosara Harlow 8,850 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Nosara
Harlow

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

Nosara vs Harlow: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Nosara and Harlow differ by about 26% in total monthly costs ($1,839 vs $2,320 including rent). Nosara is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 247% lower in Harlow. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $788 in Nosara versus $1,397 in Harlow. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Shoppers in Harlow pay roughly 68% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

All in, you'll spend $1,839 per month in Nosara versus $2,320 in Harlow – a 26% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,839 in Nosara versus $2,320 in Harlow, a $3,000 budget is realistic in Nosara but tight or insufficient in Harlow. 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, Nosara and Harlow 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 26% less than in Harlow. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.