Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Southend-on-Sea and Nosara

For one person, living is cheaper in Nosara: $1,839 a month against $2,289 in Southend-on-Sea, rent and utilities included – about $5,400 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Southend-on-Sea outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

112

Cost of Living Index in Southend-on-Sea
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Southend-on-Sea Living Index
89

Cost of Living Index in Nosara
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Nosara Living Index

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Southend-on-Sea

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,289

/mo nomad

Nosara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,839

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $2,289 per month in Southend-on-Sea vs $1,839 in Nosara, rent included.

Southend-on-Sea $2,289
Nosara $1,839

A couple spends around $3,534 per month in Southend-on-Sea vs $2,828 in Nosara, rent included.

Southend-on-Sea $3,534
Nosara $2,828

A family of three spends $4,779 per month in Southend-on-Sea vs $3,818 in Nosara, rent included.

Southend-on-Sea $4,779
Nosara $3,818

Southend-on-Sea costs about 24% more than Nosara, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Southend-on-Sea and Nosara sit above the global median – Southend-on-Sea by 70%, Nosara by 36%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$19.89 £14.92

$12.35 ₡5,539

61.05%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$83.2 £62.5

$61.2 ₡27.4K

36.06%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.17 £6.88

$7.52 ₡3,373

21.94%

Cappuccino

$4.37 £3.28

$4.41 ₡1,978

-0.91%

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

$2.65 £1.99

$1.74 ₡780

52.30%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.91 £1.44

$1.31 ₡587

45.80%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.05 £5.29

$3.28 ₡1,471

114.94%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.64 £3.48

$4.47 ₡2,004

3.80%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.46 £1.10

$1.56 ₡701

-6.41%

White Bread (500g)

$1.40 £1.05

$3.02 ₡1,355

-53.64%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.35 £1.01

$2.51 ₡1,125

-46.22%

Eggs

$4.13 £3.10

$3.57 ₡1,603

15.69%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.82 £5.87

$7.43 ₡3,333

5.25%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.51 £4.89

$10.52 ₡4,717

-38.12%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.04 £11.28

$13.97 ₡6,265

7.66%

Apples (1kg)

$3.02 £2.26

$2.35 ₡1,052

28.51%

Banana (1kg)

$1.35 £1.01

$1.61 ₡720

-16.15%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.01 £1.51

$4.80 ₡2,152

-58.13%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.60 £1.95

$1.61 ₡724

61.49%

Potato (1kg)

$1.78 £1.33

$3.80 ₡1,703

-53.16%

Onion (1kg)

$1.83 £1.37

$3.69 ₡1,657

-50.41%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.89 £0.67

$1.13 ₡507

-21.24%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 £1.18

$2.66 ₡1,191

-40.60%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$22.06 £16.55

$5.18 ₡2,321

325.87%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.13 £7.60

$19.88 ₡8,916

-49.04%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.32 £2.49

$2.90 ₡1,300

14.48%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.29 £2.47

$3.63 ₡1,626

-9.37%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.72 £2.04

$1.12 ₡504

142.86%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$46.26 £34.70

$72.6 ₡32.6K

-36.32%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.77 £4.33

$2.14 ₡958

169.63%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.70 £2.03

$1.57 ₡703

71.97%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$48.18 £36.15

$8.52 ₡3,823

465.49%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.06 £1.54

$1.52 ₡682

35.53%

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

$38.1K £28.6K

$21.6K ₡9.7M

76.23%

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

$40.5K £30.4K

$34.5K ₡15.5M

17.47%

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

$177 £133

$96.3 ₡43.2K

83.62%

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

$18.31 £13.74

$35.89 ₡16.1K

-48.98%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$42.18 £31.65

$53.6 ₡24.0K

-21.29%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$71.6 ₡32.1K

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$34.91 ₡15.7K

Cinema Ticket

$3.92 £2.94

$7.89 ₡3,539

-50.32%

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

$1,959 £1,470

$494 ₡221.6K

296.52%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$19.6K £14.7K

$11.9K ₡5.3M

65.52%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$85.1 £63.8

$53.9 ₡24.2K

57.73%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$46.31 £34.74

$55.4 ₡24.8K

-16.42%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$92.7 £69.6

$77.9 ₡34.9K

18.99%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$105 £78.6

$79.6 ₡35.7K

31.60%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,359 £1,020

$788 ₡353.4K

72.48%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,247 £935

$794 ₡356.2K

56.96%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,334 £1,751

$3,939 ₡1.8M

-40.76%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,372 £1,780

$1,419 ₡636.5K

67.16%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,640 £3,481

$6,912 ₡3.1M

-32.86%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,970 £2,978

$1,224 ₡549.0K

224.29%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,700 £2,776

$864 ₡387.3K

328.46%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.04

8.62

-41.53%

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

Last update for Southend-on-Sea: October 11, 2026

Last update for Nosara: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Southend-on-Sea

$1.2K 54.5%

Nosara

$794 43.2% 36.3% $452

Eating Out

Southend-on-Sea

$302 13.2%

Nosara

$212 11.5% 29.8% $90

Groceries & Markets

Southend-on-Sea

$271 11.8%

Nosara

$352 19.2% 30.1% $81

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Southend-on-Sea

$237 10.4%

Nosara

$186 10.1% 21.7% $52

Clothing & Footwear

Southend-on-Sea

$148 6.5%

Nosara

$120 6.5% 18.9% $28

Getting Around

Southend-on-Sea

$76 3.3%

Nosara

$87 4.7% 14% $11

Sport & Entertainment

Southend-on-Sea

$7.8 * 0.3%

Nosara

$87 4.8% 1014% $80

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,359 in Southend-on-Sea 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 328% higher in Southend-on-Sea, 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 $83.0 in Southend-on-Sea versus $61.0 in Nosara. Groceries tell a different story – $271 in Southend-on-Sea vs $352 in Nosara – so Southend-on-Sea wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Southend-on-Sea

🇨🇷 Nosara

🕒 Local time

08:38 8:38 AM

01:38 1:38 AM

7 h behind Southend-on-Sea

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

181,808

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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Highest

Between locations

Southend-on-Sea Nosara 8,890 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Southend-on-Sea
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

Southend-on-Sea vs Nosara: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $2,289 in Southend-on-Sea, $1,839 in Nosara – roughly 24% apart. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $3,434 per month in Southend-on-Sea 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 57% less in Nosara. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

Kindergarten costs $1,959 per month in Southend-on-Sea 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 Southend-on-Sea at $2,289. In Nosara it covers expenses comfortably, while in Southend-on-Sea 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 $2,289 in Southend-on-Sea. 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, Southend-on-Sea makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.