Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Nosara and Lulea

For one person, living costs are similar in Nosara and in Lulea: $1,837 and $1,823 a month, rent and utilities included.

89

Cost of Living Index in Nosara
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Nosara Living Index
88

Cost of Living Index in Lulea
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Lulea Living Index

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Nosara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,837

/mo nomad

Lulea

🇸🇪 Sweden

$1,823

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Nosara and in Lulea

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 Lulea actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,837 in Nosara versus $1,823 in Lulea.

Nosara $1,837
Lulea $1,823

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,775 in Nosara versus $2,920 in Lulea.

Nosara $2,775
Lulea $2,920

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,712 in Nosara versus $4,016 in Lulea.

Nosara $3,712
Lulea $4,016

Living in Nosara is roughly 1% more expensive than in Lulea, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Nosara 37% above, Lulea 36% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.22 ₡5,509

$11.72 SEK 117

4.27%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$60.2 ₡27.1K

$95.5 SEK 955

-36.98%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.54 ₡3,399

$10.95 SEK 109

-31.14%

Cappuccino

$4.31 ₡1,941

$4.36 SEK 43.52

-1.15%

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

$1.72 ₡773

$2.51 SEK 25.10

-31.47%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.35 ₡608

$1.87 SEK 18.66

-27.81%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.24 ₡1,459

$8.58 SEK 85.8

-62.24%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.48 ₡2,018

$9.49 SEK 94.8

-52.79%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.57 ₡707

$1.77 SEK 17.71

-11.30%

White Bread (500g)

$3.17 ₡1,429

$3.26 SEK 32.60

-2.76%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.42 ₡1,091

$4.94 SEK 49.41

-51.01%

Eggs

$3.57 ₡1,609

$4.65 SEK 46.43

-23.23%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.43 ₡3,349

$12.25 SEK 122

-39.35%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.42 ₡4,697

$13.21 SEK 132

-21.12%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.66 ₡6,156

$26.18 SEK 262

-47.82%

Apples (1kg)

$2.32 ₡1,044

$2.55 SEK 25.47

-9.02%

Banana (1kg)

$1.61 ₡728

$2.65 SEK 26.53

-39.25%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.74 ₡2,138

$2.49 SEK 24.87

90.36%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.66 ₡747

$4.11 SEK 41.10

-59.61%

Potato (1kg)

$3.72 ₡1,679

$2.04 SEK 20.39

82.35%

Onion (1kg)

$3.57 ₡1,611

$1.54 SEK 15.43

131.82%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.10 ₡497

$3.36 SEK 33.58

-67.26%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.55 ₡1,149

$1.29 SEK 12.93

97.67%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.95 ₡2,232

$6.68 SEK 66.7

-25.90%

Wine (Bottle)

$20.01 ₡9,020

$12.05 SEK 120

66.06%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.79 ₡1,256

$1.78 SEK 17.77

56.74%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.53 ₡1,589

$1.72 SEK 17.15

105.23%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.19 ₡537

$3.32 SEK 33.21

-64.16%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$72.1 ₡32.5K

$55.4 SEK 554

30.00%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.24 ₡1,011

$9.04 SEK 90.3

-75.22%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.55 ₡701

$2.05 SEK 20.52

-24.39%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.86 ₡3,993

$70.6 SEK 706

-87.45%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.57 ₡708

$1.77 SEK 17.65

-11.30%

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

$21.8K ₡9.8M

$31.9K SEK 318.5K

-31.58%

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

$34.6K ₡15.6M

$33.5K SEK 334.6K

3.44%

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

$93.5 ₡42.1K

$160 SEK 1,603

-41.75%

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

$35.11 ₡15.8K

$31.51 SEK 315

11.42%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$51.5 ₡23.2K

$26.96 SEK 269

90.99%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$71.4 ₡32.2K

$46.15 SEK 461

54.71%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$35.44 ₡16.0K

$35.47 SEK 354

-0.08%

Cinema Ticket

$7.84 ₡3,535

$12.94 SEK 129

-39.41%

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

$490 ₡220.7K

$153 SEK 1,528

220.06%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.9K ₡5.4M

$5,466 SEK 54.6K

117.33%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.5 ₡24.1K

$117 SEK 1,168

-54.17%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$55.8 ₡25.1K

$31.97 SEK 320

74.44%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$79.3 ₡35.7K

$120 SEK 1,202

-34.11%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$78.9 ₡35.6K

$161 SEK 1,611

-51.06%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$786 ₡354.3K

$778 SEK 7,773

1.05%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$780 ₡351.6K

$581 SEK 5,811

34.13%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,860 ₡1.7M

$1,418 SEK 14.2K

172.29%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,407 ₡634.4K

$1,098 SEK 11.0K

28.13%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,972 ₡3.1M

$3,049 SEK 30.5K

128.65%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,201 ₡541.3K

$2,254 SEK 22.5K

-46.74%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$876 ₡395.0K

$2,595 SEK 25.9K

-66.24%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.62

3.85

123.90%

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

Last update for Nosara: October 5, 2026

Last update for Lulea: October 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Nosara

$780 43%

Lulea

$581 32% 25.4% $198

Groceries & Markets

Nosara

$350 19.3%

Lulea

$404 22.2% 15.5% $54

Eating Out

Nosara

$209 11.6%

Lulea

$258 14.2% 23.3% $49

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Nosara

$180 9.9%

Lulea

$219 12.1% 21.6% $39

Clothing & Footwear

Nosara

$120 6.6%

Lulea

$194 10.7% 60.9% $73

Sport & Entertainment

Nosara

$87 4.8%

Lulea

$72 4% 17.3% $15

Getting Around

Nosara

$87 4.8%

Lulea

$88 4.9% 1.4% $1.2

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $786 in Nosara and $778 in Lulea. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lulea pays 196% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $60.0 in Nosara vs $96.0 in Lulea for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $350 vs $404 per month, with Nosara cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇷 Nosara

🇸🇪 Lulea

🕒 Local time

21:09 9:09 PM

05:09 5:09 AM

8 h ahead of Nosara

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

4,912

73,864

💱 Currency

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

Swedish Krona SEK kr

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR

100 SEK = 10.01 USD

100 SEK = 8.92 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇷 Costa Rican Colón (₡)

Costa Rican Colón exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 451 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD). 1 EUR = 506 CRC (1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR).

Swedish Krona exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 9.99 SEK (1 SEK = 0.1 USD). 1 EUR = 11.21 SEK (100 SEK = 8.92 EUR).

USD to CRC in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Nosara Lulea 9,790 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Nosara
Lulea

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 Lulea: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lulea wins on cost – living expenses run 1% lower than in Nosara. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Lulea the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 196% lower in Lulea. 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: $786 in Nosara versus $778 in Lulea. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Shoppers in Nosara pay roughly 16% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

Dining out is cheaper in Lulea – a meal for two runs $96.0 versus $60.0 in Nosara. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,823 in Lulea versus $1,837 in Nosara, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Lulea but tight or insufficient in Nosara. The gap between the two cities makes Lulea the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Lulea delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $1,823 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Lulea hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Nosara and Lulea 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 Lulea gentler on the wallet – expenses run 1% less than in Nosara. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.