⭐️ Total score | 3.03/5 (Rank #774) |
👍 Quality of life score | Okay |
👶 Family score | Okay |
💵 Cost | 🙂 Okay: $2,682 / mo |
📡 Internet | 😡 Slow: 4Mbps (avg) |
😝 Fun | Good |
⛅️ Temperature (now) | 🌞 Perfect: 27°C81°F (feels 32°C90°F) |
💦 Humidity (now) | 🥵 Sweaty: 86% |
💨 Air quality (now) | 🌱 Great: 9 US AQI |
👌 Safety | Okay |
👮♀️ Lack of crime* | Bad |
🤝 Lack of racism* | Good |
🎓 Education level* | Mediocre |
💰 Income level* | Very low: $985 / mo |
🙊 English speaking* | Okay |
🚶 Walkability | Okay |
✌️ Peace (no pol. conflict) | Okay |
🚦 Traffic safety* | Okay |
🏥 Healthcare* | Good |
😄 Happiness* | Great |
🍸 Nightlife | Bad |
📶 Free WiFi in city | Bad |
🖥 Places to work from | Good |
❄️ A/C or heating | Bad |
😁 Friendly to foreigners | Good |
🗯 Freedom of speech* | Great |
👩 Female friendly | Okay |
🌈 LGBTQ+ friendly | Great |
🎅 Startup Score | Bad |
🌍 Continent | Latin America |
🚩 Country | Costa Rica |
⏱ Average trip length | 17 days |
📡 Internet speed (avg) | 4 Mbps |
⛅️ Weather (now) | 🌧 27°C 81°F + 🥵 Sweaty (86%) = feels 32°C 90°F |
💨 Air quality (now) | 👍 9 US AQI 🍃 OK |
🔌 Power | 115V60Hz |
🚑 Travel medical insurance | ![]() |
📱 Best wireless carrier | Kolbi |
💸 1,000 CRC in USD | USD 1.46 |
🏧 Suggested ATM take out: | CRC 100,000 = USD 146 |
💸 Tipping | No |
💳 Cashless | 💵 No, cash only (esp. for foreigners) |
🚰 Tap water | 🚫 No, not drinkable |
♻️ Return rate | 👍11% of visitors return |
👨👩👧👦 Population | 10,000 people |
👨👩👧👦 GDP per capita* | $11,825 / year |
🏞 Foreign land ownership allowed | Yes |
👫 Gender ratio (overall) | 👨 51% 👱♀️ 49% |
👫 Gender ratio (young adults) | 👨 52% 👱♀️ 48% |
⛪️ Religious government | Religious |
🏠 Apartment listings | Encuentra24 |
✈️ Best short-haul air carrier | Nature Air |
✈️ Best int'l air carrier | Nature Air |
🏥 Best hospital | Hone Creek Clinic |
💵 Cost of living for nomad | $2,682 / month |
💵 Cost of living for expat | $1,372 / month |
💵 Cost of living for family | $2,267 / month |
💵 Cost of living for local | $648 / month |
🏠 1br studio rent in center | $437 / month |
🏢 Coworking | $364 / month |
🏨 Hotel (median price) | $2,265 / month |
🏨 Hotel (median price) | $106 / night |
🏡 Airbnb (median from 199 listings) | $2,583 / month |
🏠 Airbnb (median price) | $85 / night |
🍛 Dinner | $6 |
🥤 Coca-Cola (0.3L) | $1 |
🍺 Beer (0.5L) | $3 |
☕️ Coffee | $2 |
✅ Lots of fun stuff to do
✅ Warm now
✅ Warm all year round
✅ Good air quality on average
✅ Many Nomad List members have been
✅ Spacious and not crowded
✅ Very easy to make friends
✅ Easy to do business
✅ High quality of education
✅ Roads are pretty safe
✅ Great freedom of speech
✅ Democratic
✅ Safe for women
✅ Family friendly
✅ Very friendly to LGBTQ+
✅ Not many people smoke tobacco
❌ Expensive
❌ Not very safe
❌ Very slow internet
❌ Very sweaty and humid now
❌ Hospitals are bad
❌ People don't speak English well
Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
Feels | 9032° hot | 9032° hot | 8831° hot | 9334° hot | 9334° hot | 9334° hot | 9334° hot | 9334° hot | 9736° hot | 9736° hot | 9133° hot | 9032° hot |
Real | 8127° warm | 8127° warm | 8127° warm | 8228° very warm | 8228° very warm | 8228° very warm | 8228° very warm | 8228° very warm | 8429° very warm | 8429° very warm | 8228° very warm | 8127° warm |
Humidity | sweaty 88% | sweaty 88% | sweaty 85% | sweaty 93% | sweaty 93% | sweaty 91% | sweaty 93% | sweaty 91% | sweaty 89% | sweaty 88% | sweaty 87% | sweaty 91% |
Rain | rainy 209mm | rainy 150mm | rainy 150mm | rainy 207mm | rainy 365mm | rainy 267mm | rainy 440mm | rainy 312mm | rainy 291mm | rainy 243mm | rainy 337mm | rainy 357mm |
Cloud | cloudy 58% | cloudy 55% | pockets 49% | cloudy 70% | cloudy 71% | cloudy 73% | cloudy 70% | cloudy 78% | cloudy 73% | cloudy 66% | cloudy 59% | cloudy 56% |
Sun | avoid sun 8 UVI | avoid sun 10 UVI | avoid sun 11 UVI | avoid sun 9 UVI | avoid sun 8 UVI | avoid sun 8 UVI | avoid sun 7 UVI | avoid sun 8 UVI | avoid sun 8 UVI | avoid sun 8 UVI | avoid sun 8 UVI | avoid sun 8 UVI |
Remote workers | 360 people | 700 people | 314 people | 457 people | 429 people | 450 people | 333 people | 333 people | 440 people | 400 people | 240 people | 314 people |
If you'd like to filter destinations based on their climate, try Nomad List's Climate Finder
Based on Puerto Viejo's cost of living, here's selected remote jobs that would cover your costs:
Bocas del Toro is an awesome place to come and work at. There are different places to stay and work in Bocas del Toro, throughout the archipelago that offer different experiences. Some places are more remote with high speed internet service, comfortable settings just a bit far so getting into town and enjoying the nightlife can be more difficult. If you want to stay in town there are some options in Bocas Town with co-working spaces like Selinas Hostel, but keep in mind there is a lively nightli
⭐️ OverallAll 💵 Cost 😙 Affordable📡 InternetWiFi 😡 Slow😀 Fun great👮 Safety badTap to open🌧 Feels 36° 97° 29° 84°🥵AQI 9🚕2h$2,297 / mo5Mbps×According to the World Happiness Report, San José in Costa Rica is the 11th "happiest city" (in terms of how positively the inhabitants currently evaluate their lives on average) among 186 cities across the globe. In this ranking, the top cities have often a much higher cost of living.
⭐️ OverallAll 💵 Cost 😙 Affordable📡 InternetWiFi 😡 Slow😀 Fun mediocre👮 Safety very badTap to open🌧 Feels 23° 73° 23° 73°AQI 9✈️13min$1,967 / mo4Mbps×Only shop in Liberia. Playa Hermosa/Ocatal is simply lovely. As a female traveler, havent had any issues/concerns. My Spanish is basic and no issues there either.
⭐️ OverallAll 💵 Cost 😙 Affordable📡 InternetWiFi 😡 Slow😀 Fun mediocre👮 Safety badTap to open🌧 Feels 34° 93° 28° 83°🥵AQI 9✈️25min$1,261 / mo4Mbps×Panama City is a B+ place to live: solid weather, amenities, safety, and cleanliness... but, it feels much like an American city due to the skyscrapers, urban sprawl, and the limited activities. If you're not shopping, eating at a restaurant, bar hopping, or going to a reggaeton club until 3am, there's not a whole lot else to do. The weather is remarkably consistent: everyday it will be 85F, it will be cloudy for a few hours including a 15-30 minute shower, and then it will be mostly sunny for
⭐️ OverallAll 💵 Cost 😙 Affordable📡 InternetWiFi 😡 Slow😀 Fun mediocre👮 Safety badTap to open🌧 Feels 39° 102° 30° 86°🥵AQI 9✈️29min$2,220 / mo14Mbps×Safety score is honestly too high! I passed through Managua a few times during my time in Nicaragua, and it remains the sketchiest, dirtiest city I've personally seen in Latin America. It's also ungodly hot and smelly. Would not recommend staying here for any reason whatsoever.
⭐️ OverallAll 💵 Cost 😙 Affordable📡 InternetWiFi 😡 Slow😀 Fun bad👮 Safety badTap to open🌧 Feels 35° 95° 29° 85°🥵AQI 9✈️38min$1,275 / mo4Mbps×Ungodly hot year round, but some cool things to see. Can't imagine working from here, but it a cool enough place to visit for a few days if you can stand the heat. Volcano boarding is a great time!
⭐️ OverallAll 💵 Cost 😙 Affordable📡 InternetWiFi 😡 Slow😀 Fun bad👮 Safety badTap to open🌧 Feels 38° 100° 30° 85°🥵AQI 112😷✈️44min$1,336 / mo5Mbps×I mostly don't like it here. Possibly I am too used to USA or have not traveled enough. PRO: It is beautiful, with great natural resources, inexpensive rates & lots of activities to do. There are carriage rides & snorkling, beach events, etc. Lots & lots of great places for brunch or dinner & drinks. CONS: There's a strong cultural, economic & racial divide here. The locals see the tourist as distinctly different from them. It's hard to find any locals to have a conversation & just tre
⭐️ OverallAll 💵 Cost 😙 Affordable📡 InternetWiFi 😡 Slow😀 Fun great👮 Safety badTap to open🌥 Feels 39° 102° 30° 87°🥵AQI 17✈️1h$1,557 / mo5Mbps×Bocas del Toro is an awesome place to come and work at. There are different places to stay and work in Bocas del Toro, throughout the archipelago that offer different experiences. Some places are more remote with high speed internet service, comfortable settings just a bit far so getting into town and enjoying the nightlife can be more difficult. If you want to stay in town there are some options in Bocas Town with co-working spaces like Selinas Hostel, but keep in mind there is a lively nightli
⭐️ OverallAll 💵 Cost 😙 Affordable📡 InternetWiFi 😡 Slow😀 Fun great👮 Safety badTap to open🌧 Feels 36° 97° 29° 84°🥵AQI 9🚕2h$2,297 / mo5Mbps×According to the World Happiness Report, San José in Costa Rica is the 11th "happiest city" (in terms of how positively the inhabitants currently evaluate their lives on average) among 186 cities across the globe. In this ranking, the top cities have often a much higher cost of living.
⭐️ OverallAll 💵 Cost 😙 Affordable📡 InternetWiFi 😡 Slow😀 Fun mediocre👮 Safety very badTap to open🌧 Feels 23° 73° 23° 73°AQI 9✈️13min$1,967 / mo4Mbps×Panama City is a B+ place to live: solid weather, amenities, safety, and cleanliness... but, it feels much like an American city due to the skyscrapers, urban sprawl, and the limited activities. If you're not shopping, eating at a restaurant, bar hopping, or going to a reggaeton club until 3am, there's not a whole lot else to do. The weather is remarkably consistent: everyday it will be 85F, it will be cloudy for a few hours including a 15-30 minute shower, and then it will be mostly sunny for
⭐️ OverallAll 💵 Cost 😙 Affordable📡 InternetWiFi 😡 Slow😀 Fun mediocre👮 Safety badTap to open🌧 Feels 39° 102° 30° 86°🥵AQI 9✈️29min$2,220 / mo14Mbps×I really enjoyed my first week here, but as I got to know more locals and heard their stories, I was disturbed at the security situation. Almost everyone I met has horror stories about being robbed at gunpoint, robbed by the police, and in one case even drugged and robbed by a taxi driver. It's not even safe to walk a short distance at night (locals told me to just take Uber). Beyond the security issues, scams also abound, and the covid policy is wacky, with hand sanitizer being forced on you ev
⭐️ OverallAll 💵 Cost 😙 Affordable📡 InternetWiFi 😡 Slow😀 Fun good👮 Safety badTap to open🌧 Feels 21° 70° 21° 70°AQI 53✈️3h$1,536 / mo11Mbps×I've lived in New York City - Brooklyn - for over 20 years. For visiting tourists, the best neighborhood to stay in is NOT Bushwick. Park Slope, Prospect Heights, Ft. Green or Brooklyn Heights is preferable. Plenty of good transportation in those areas - subway, buses or Uber. Easy access to beaches in Long Island and New Jersey. There's plenty to do in NYC. Great restaurants, Broadway plays (!), and in the summer you frequently can catch a free concert.
⭐️ OverallAll 💵 Cost 😳 Way too expensive📡 InternetWiFi 😡 Slow😀 Fun great👮 Safety mediocreTap to open🌦 Feels 27° 81° 26° 79°AQI 33✈️5h$5,660 / mo34Mbps×Loved Miraflores in Lima - has a lot of stylish cafes and restaurants with good food, coworkings, parks. Barranco has some amazing nightclubs. Although Lima is more expensive than other parts of Peru
⭐️ OverallAll 💵 Cost 😙 Affordable📡 InternetWiFi 😡 Slow😀 Fun good👮 Safety mediocreTap to open🌥 Feels 18° 64° 17° 63°AQI 33✈️3h$1,089 / mo4Mbps×Everything is for American tourists. Prices are sometimes even higher than in the US. Beach is beautiful, there's nothing to do downtown. Cenotes, archaeological zone are cool, worth a visit. Covid is like it doesn't exist. Internet was cool in Selina. Cool to stay for a couple of nights of chilling, but not for living.
⭐️ OverallAll 💵 Cost 🙂 Okay📡 InternetWiFi 😡 Slow😀 Fun good👮 Safety badTap to open🌤 Feels 41° 106° 31° 88°🥵AQI 30✈️2h$2,547 / mo7Mbps×Ungodly hot year round, but some cool things to see. Can't imagine working from here, but it a cool enough place to visit for a few days if you can stand the heat. Volcano boarding is a great time!
⭐️ OverallAll 💵 Cost 😙 Affordable📡 InternetWiFi 😡 Slow😀 Fun bad👮 Safety badTap to open🌧 Feels 38° 100° 30° 85°🥵AQI 112😷✈️44min$1,336 / mo5Mbps×Lived here for about 3 months as a female. The climate is amazing as it is the City of Eternal Spring. Very reasonable prices everywhere. I stayed in Poblado, but about a 25 minute walk from all the action of Poblado. Walking on the main roads during the day was fine. The local people are amazingly nice. However, once night falls, you have to be careful here. Do not walk on quiet streets. Leave your valuables at home and do not ever show your mobile phone outside on the street. Use an Uber at ni
⭐️ OverallAll 💵 Cost 😙 Affordable📡 InternetWiFi 😡 Slow😀 Fun good👮 Safety badTap to open🌧 Feels 22° 72° 22° 72°AQI 70✈️1h$1,050 / mo5Mbps×Bocas del Toro is an awesome place to come and work at. There are different places to stay and work in Bocas del Toro, throughout the archipelago that offer different experiences. Some places are more remote with high speed internet service, comfortable settings just a bit far so getting into town and enjoying the nightlife can be more difficult. If you want to stay in town there are some options in Bocas Town with co-working spaces like Selinas Hostel, but keep in mind there is a lively nightli
⭐️ OverallAll 💵 Cost 😙 Affordable📡 InternetWiFi 😡 Slow😀 Fun great👮 Safety badTap to open🌧 Feels 36° 97° 29° 84°🥵AQI 9🚕2h$2,297 / mo🌇 Also went here31 people×According to the World Happiness Report, San José in Costa Rica is the 11th "happiest city" (in terms of how positively the inhabitants currently evaluate their lives on average) among 186 cities across the globe. In this ranking, the top cities have often a much higher cost of living.
⭐️ OverallAll 💵 Cost 😙 Affordable📡 InternetWiFi 😡 Slow😀 Fun mediocre👮 Safety very badTap to open🌧 Feels 23° 73° 23° 73°AQI 9✈️13min$1,967 / mo🌇 Also went here53 people×Lived here for about 3 months as a female. The climate is amazing as it is the City of Eternal Spring. Very reasonable prices everywhere. I stayed in Poblado, but about a 25 minute walk from all the action of Poblado. Walking on the main roads during the day was fine. The local people are amazingly nice. However, once night falls, you have to be careful here. Do not walk on quiet streets. Leave your valuables at home and do not ever show your mobile phone outside on the street. Use an Uber at ni
⭐️ OverallAll 💵 Cost 😙 Affordable📡 InternetWiFi 😡 Slow😀 Fun good👮 Safety badTap to open🌧 Feels 22° 72° 22° 72°AQI 70✈️1h$1,050 / mo🌇 Also went here43 people×Touristy circus of a place. Everyone is trying to rip you off... even as fluent Spanish speaker. Check out PV or anywhere west coast instead.
⭐️ OverallAll 💵 Cost 😙 Affordable📡 InternetWiFi 😡 Slow😀 Fun great👮 Safety badTap to open🌥 Feels 41° 106° 31° 88°🥵AQI 30✈️2h$1,554 / mo🌇 Also went here42 people×I really enjoyed my first week here, but as I got to know more locals and heard their stories, I was disturbed at the security situation. Almost everyone I met has horror stories about being robbed at gunpoint, robbed by the police, and in one case even drugged and robbed by a taxi driver. It's not even safe to walk a short distance at night (locals told me to just take Uber). Beyond the security issues, scams also abound, and the covid policy is wacky, with hand sanitizer being forced on you ev
⭐️ OverallAll 💵 Cost 😙 Affordable📡 InternetWiFi 😡 Slow😀 Fun good👮 Safety badTap to open🌧 Feels 21° 70° 21° 70°AQI 53✈️3h$1,536 / mo🌇 Also went here42 people×Loved Miraflores in Lima - has a lot of stylish cafes and restaurants with good food, coworkings, parks. Barranco has some amazing nightclubs. Although Lima is more expensive than other parts of Peru
⭐️ OverallAll 💵 Cost 😙 Affordable📡 InternetWiFi 😡 Slow😀 Fun good👮 Safety mediocreTap to open🌥 Feels 18° 64° 17° 63°AQI 33✈️3h$1,089 / mo🌇 Also went here32 people×I've lived in New York City - Brooklyn - for over 20 years. For visiting tourists, the best neighborhood to stay in is NOT Bushwick. Park Slope, Prospect Heights, Ft. Green or Brooklyn Heights is preferable. Plenty of good transportation in those areas - subway, buses or Uber. Easy access to beaches in Long Island and New Jersey. There's plenty to do in NYC. Great restaurants, Broadway plays (!), and in the summer you frequently can catch a free concert.
⭐️ OverallAll 💵 Cost 😳 Way too expensive📡 InternetWiFi 😡 Slow😀 Fun great👮 Safety mediocreTap to open🌦 Feels 27° 81° 26° 79°AQI 33✈️5h$5,660 / mo🌇 Also went here37 people×Good: - Great local food - Portuguese people are amazingly friendly - Vibrant DN community. It's like the city has been overtaken by remote workers. You will see everyone working on their laptop everywhere you go. - Amazing views whenever you want; you can just get a beer and climb to one of the viewpoints to see the sunset. Easy and magical. - Super cheap Ubers, easy subway Bad: - Housing prices. I'm not kidding, it's the worst I've ever seen. Ultra overpriced. I guess that's the problem when
⭐️ OverallAll 💵 Cost 😙 Affordable📡 InternetWiFi 😡 Slow😀 Fun great👮 Safety goodTap to open🌥 Feels 22° 72° 22° 71°AQI 25✈️11h$2,347 / mo🌇 Also went here36 people×Just blindingly good. Best european city by miles. Cheap tube €26 for 5 days unlimited use! City centre is all walkable though. 4 or 5 distinct barrios with mega nightlife- does anyone actually work?!! Architecture fabulous on every street. Museum reno sofia; the best collection of 20c art, free entry after 7pm! The locals are friendly too. Could easily move here.
⭐️ OverallAll 💵 Cost 🙂 Okay📡 InternetWiFi 😡 Slow😀 Fun great👮 Safety mediocreTap to open🌥 Feels 27° 81° 27° 81°AQI 50✈️11h$2,976 / mo🌇 Also went here35 people×How did you guys classified Penge as rich? It is one of the worst neighbourhood I have ever been in London, the ammount of people I know that have been robbed there is appalling.
⭐️ OverallAll 💵 Cost 😳 Way too expensive📡 InternetWiFi 😡 Slow😀 Fun great👮 Safety mediocreTap to open🌧 Feels 18° 64° 17° 63°AQI 25✈️12h$5,109 / mo🌇 Also went here42 people×Lived there last September and October and am coming back later this year. Yes, it is expensive, but after a while I learned about affordable places to eat and realized I could choose neighborhoods farther from city center, and it would still be nice. City feels super safe, even at nigh! Internet is crazy fast (I got 500mb on my airbnb) there are tons to do and see and I did not encounter the super rude Parisians people talk so much about, mostly everyone spoke English and were very polite. Rent
⭐️ OverallAll 💵 Cost 🧐 Too expensive📡 InternetWiFi 😡 Slow😀 Fun good👮 Safety mediocreTap to open🌧 Feels 19° 66° 18° 64°AQI 25✈️12h$4,517 / mo🌇 Also went here34 people×Best city in Spain. Weather is great even in December and the clubbing scene is fun. There's lots to do and it's a beautiful city overall. You have to watch out for pickpockets but as long as you aren't leaving things unattended or obviously in your pockets you'll be fine. If you're into hostels, Hostel One Paralelo is BY FAR the best hostel in the area, worth every penny. Will definitely be back, and I never say that.
⭐️ OverallAll 💵 Cost 🧐 Pricey📡 InternetWiFi 😡 Slow😀 Fun great👮 Safety mediocreTap to open🌥 Feels 29° 84° 27° 81°AQI 35✈️12h$3,557 / mo🌇 Also went here41 people×A top city. Everything works, beautiful greenery (hehe), cycling everywhere, happy people, great nightlife... Lots to love about. For nomads? Not a chance. Price of housing is outrageous, and the city is expensive af. They charge you 4.5-5 eur for a capuccino, completely shameless. An hour of public transport is 3 euros. I could go on and on. I'd love to live there, but it's not worth it.
⭐️ OverallAll 💵 Cost 😳 Way too expensive📡 InternetWiFi 😡 Slow😀 Fun good👮 Safety mediocreTap to open🌧 Feels 22° 72° 22° 71°AQI 25✈️12h$5,840 / mo🌇 Also went here34 people×Berlin is overall a great city to be. Food is cheap and everywhere, easy to go out and have fun/meet for business. Rent has crept up but still far better value than where I came from. Internet: 36 EUR/month get me 450/40 mbps (cable -> DOCSIS 3.0) Public transport is 2.70 EUR/ticket. No woman I know has said they felt unsafe. Some really odd, xenophobic sounding comments on here. Biggest downsides IMO: service quality at restaurants - not that people are rude, but they don't seem to particular
⭐️ OverallAll 💵 Cost 🧐 Pricey📡 InternetWiFi 😡 Slow😀 Fun great👮 Safety mediocreTap to open🌤 Feels 30° 86° 27° 80°AQI 50✈️13h$3,853 / mo🌇 Also went here42 people×I cannot help but agree with the review from the person before me. I'm finishing my 3 weeks trip here, and something feels off. Like that person put it rightly, everything is for sale, and nothing has value. There is no soul to this city and its people, locals or otherwise. Something is wrong here.
⭐️ OverallAll 💵 Cost 😙 Affordable📡 InternetWiFi 😡 Slow😀 Fun good👮 Safety goodTap to open🌥 Feels 43° 109° 33° 92°🥵AQI 59✈️23h$1,268 / mo🌇 Also went here33 people×