Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Nosara and Miaoli

For one person, living is cheaper in Miaoli: $794 a month against $1,837 in Nosara, rent and utilities included – about $12,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

89

Cost of Living Index in Nosara
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Nosara Living Index
38

Cost of Living Index in Miaoli
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Miaoli Living Index

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Nosara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,837

/mo nomad

Miaoli

🇹🇼 Taiwan

$794

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Nosara and in Miaoli

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,837 in Nosara versus $794 in Miaoli.

Nosara $1,837
Miaoli $794

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,775 in Nosara versus $1,109 in Miaoli.

Nosara $2,775
Miaoli $1,109

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,712 in Nosara versus $1,425 in Miaoli.

Nosara $3,712
Miaoli $1,425

Living in Nosara is roughly 131% more expensive than in Miaoli, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Nosara is 37% above, Miaoli is 41% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.22 ₡5,509

$2.46 NT$78.6

396.75%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$60.2 ₡27.1K

$23.69 NT$756

154.12%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.54 ₡3,399

$4.69 NT$150

60.77%

Cappuccino

$4.31 ₡1,941

$3.01 NT$96.1

43.19%

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

$1.72 ₡773

$0.86 NT$27.33

100.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.35 ₡608

$0.53 NT$16.97

154.72%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.24 ₡1,459

$1.23 NT$39.22

163.41%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.48 ₡2,018

$1.36 NT$43.36

229.41%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.57 ₡707

$2.69 NT$86.0

-41.64%

White Bread (500g)

$3.17 ₡1,429

$1.25 NT$39.79

153.60%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.42 ₡1,091

$2.72 NT$86.7

-11.03%

Eggs

$3.57 ₡1,609

$2.21 NT$70.5

61.54%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.43 ₡3,349

$9.25 NT$295

-19.68%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.42 ₡4,697

$7.54 NT$241

38.20%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.66 ₡6,156

$21.84 NT$697

-37.45%

Apples (1kg)

$2.32 ₡1,044

$3.74 NT$119

-37.97%

Banana (1kg)

$1.61 ₡728

$1.98 NT$63.2

-18.69%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.74 ₡2,138

$3.05 NT$97.3

55.41%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.66 ₡747

$3.09 NT$98.5

-46.28%

Potato (1kg)

$3.72 ₡1,679

$2.47 NT$78.9

50.61%

Onion (1kg)

$3.57 ₡1,611

$2.04 NT$65.2

75.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.10 ₡497

$2.30 NT$73.5

-52.17%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.55 ₡1,149

$0.87 NT$27.78

193.10%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.95 ₡2,232

$4.06 NT$129

21.92%

Wine (Bottle)

$20.01 ₡9,020

$10.99 NT$351

82.07%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.79 ₡1,256

$1.49 NT$47.39

87.25%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.53 ₡1,589

$2.08 NT$66.5

69.71%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.19 ₡537

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$72.1 ₡32.5K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.24 ₡1,011

$2.90 NT$92.6

-22.76%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.55 ₡701

$0.75 NT$23.97

106.67%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.86 ₡3,993

$7.05 NT$225

25.67%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.57 ₡708

$1.03 NT$32.92

52.43%

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

$21.8K ₡9.8M

$33.3K NT$1.1M

-34.48%

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

$34.6K ₡15.6M

$23.8K NT$758.4K

45.73%

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

$93.5 ₡42.1K

$69.0 NT$2,201

35.49%

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

$35.11 ₡15.8K

$18.41 NT$587

90.71%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$51.5 ₡23.2K

$22.34 NT$713

130.48%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$71.4 ₡32.2K

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$35.44 ₡16.0K

Cinema Ticket

$7.84 ₡3,535

$10.97 NT$350

-28.53%

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

$490 ₡220.7K

$517 NT$16.5K

-5.39%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.9K ₡5.4M

$31.7K NT$1.0M

-62.58%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.5 ₡24.1K

$12.55 NT$400

326.61%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$55.8 ₡25.1K

$25.14 NT$802

121.84%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$79.3 ₡35.7K

$63.8 NT$2,036

24.22%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$78.9 ₡35.6K

$99.4 NT$3,172

-20.65%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$786 ₡354.3K

$217 NT$6,917

262.55%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$780 ₡351.6K

$158 NT$5,030

394.67%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,860 ₡1.7M

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,407 ₡634.4K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,972 ₡3.1M

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,201 ₡541.3K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$876 ₡395.0K

$2,500 NT$79.8K

-64.95%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.62

2.38

262.18%

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

Last update for Nosara: October 5, 2026

Last update for Miaoli: October 6, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Nosara

$780 43%

Miaoli

$158 20.1% 79.8% $622

Groceries & Markets

Nosara

$350 19.3%

Miaoli

$313 39.9% 10.4% $37

Eating Out

Nosara

$209 11.6%

Miaoli

$84 10.8% 59.7% $125

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Nosara

$180 9.9%

Miaoli

$110 14% 39.1% $70

Clothing & Footwear

Nosara

$120 6.6%

Miaoli

$90 11.5% 24.9% $30

Sport & Entertainment

Nosara

$87 4.8%

Miaoli

$22 * 2.8% 74.8% $65

Getting Around

Nosara

$87 4.8%

Miaoli

$6.7 * 0.9% 92.3% $80

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 $786 in Nosara and $217 in Miaoli. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Miaoli pays 185% 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 $24.00 in Miaoli for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $350 vs $313 per month, with Miaoli cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇷 Nosara

🇹🇼 Miaoli

🕒 Local time

12:15 12:15 PM

02:15 2:15 AM

14 h ahead of Nosara

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

4,912

89,892

💱 Currency

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

New Taiwan Dollar TWD NT$

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR

100 TWD = 3.13 USD

100 TWD = 2.8 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

TWD, 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 = 505 CRC (1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR).

New Taiwan Dollar exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 31.91 TWD (100 TWD = 3.13 USD). 1 EUR = 35.76 TWD (100 TWD = 2.8 EUR).

USD to CRC in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Nosara Miaoli 15,220 km ≈ 20 h nonstop flight

From you

Nosara
Miaoli

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 Miaoli: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Nosara and Miaoli differ by about 131% in total monthly costs ($1,837 vs $794 including rent). Miaoli is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 185% lower in Miaoli. 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 $217 in Miaoli. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 12% higher in Nosara. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $1,837 per month in Nosara versus $794 in Miaoli – a 131% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $794 in Miaoli versus $1,837 in Nosara, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Miaoli but tight or insufficient in Nosara. The gap between the two cities makes Miaoli 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 Miaoli 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 Miaoli gentler on the wallet – expenses run 131% less than in Nosara. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.