I can't comment on total cost of living as I was camping and hitching rides for free, but (restaurant) food and random consumer items seemed noticeably cheaper than their bay area equivalents. 3g/4g data in particular was way cheaper than the US - I walked up to a random telecom booth in the airport and prepaid for far more data than I needed with whatever I had in my pocket at the time...under $20? The equivalent service in the US costs around $80/month via ATT, I think.