(QCOSTARICA) Yet another cost of living chart, this one by Numbeo, the world’s largest database of user contributed data about cities and countries worldwide.
Numbeo says it has 1,841,665 prices in 5,331 cities entered by 231,709 users (updated June 25, 2015)
The website provides, free of charge, a tool to see, share and compare information about cost of living worldwide, including cost of living, housing indicators, health care, traffic, crime and pollution.
So, what does it cost to live in San Jose?
That is a difficult question to answer since everyone’s style of living and needs are different. What Numbeo does, however, is breakdown the different costs based on entires made in the past 18 months from 71 different contributors.
For example, the rent per month for a 1 bedroom apartment in city centre is US$625, outside the centre US$530. A pair of jeans (Levis 501 or similar) can set you back US$78.90 and a pair of Nike running shoes (mid-range) US$98.21. But, in San Jose centre you can buy knockoffs for half of that and non-brand jeans for even less.
The cost of a movie is US$5.62, renting a tennis court (1 hour on the weekend) is US$19.36.
Basic utilityt costs (electricity, Heating, Water, Garbage) for 85 square metre (900 square foot) apartment is US$80.62, cable/dsl internet with 6 Mbps, unlimited data is US$51.02.
A litre of gasoline US$1.30 (US$5.03 a US gallon – US$5.79 for a Canadian gallon), a one way pass on a local bus US$0.66, taxi is US$1.20 per kilometre.
A bottle of domestic beer US$2.08, imported US$2.93, water US$0.75 and a pack of cigarettes US$3.09. Milk is US$1.45 a litre, fresh white bread (500gr) US$1.39, rice (1 kg) US$2.25, a dozen eggs US$3.26 and 1 kg of boneless, skinless chicken breasts is US$7.09.
Click here for the Numbeo prices in San Jose.
Those living in Costa Rica and in particular San Jose can find great deals on many of the items on the list, in places like the Mercado Central which can be found in every town or the local “ferias” (weekend markets) that are in every community.
Click here of the Cost of Living Estimator in San Jose, Costa Rica
Use the comments below to let us know of the great deals or experience with prices in San Jose.