What It Really Costs to Live in Cabarete Long-Term (2026)

Rent: the biggest line, and the most misunderstood

Cabarete's rental market splits into two worlds. Vacation platforms quote nightly tourist prices that would add up to $2,500–4,000 a month. The long-term market — rented monthly, directly from owners — is a fraction of that. For orientation, our own furnished apartments in a gated community 2 minutes from the beach:

Those prices include Starlink high-speed internet, pool access, a backup generator and laundry — worth checking anywhere you rent, because many cheaper unfurnished places include none of it, and setting up furniture, appliances and internet yourself usually eats the difference in the first year.

Electricity: the number that surprises everyone

Electricity is almost never included in long-term rent in the DR — every apartment has its own meter, and the tariff is tiered: up to 200 kWh you pay RD$5.97 per kWh, from 201 to 300 kWh RD$8.51, and above that RD$13.83. The tiers rise steeply on purpose. In practice that means one thing: air conditioning is the dial that sets your bill. Run it all day and you can triple your electricity cost compared to using fans and the trade winds — which is genuinely how most long-term residents here live.

Deposit and paperwork

The standard long-term deposit on the North Coast is one month's rent — that's what we charge, and what you should expect elsewhere. Be wary of anything much higher. Contracts are typically month-to-month or seasonal; you don't need residency to rent long-term.

Getting around without a car

The coastal road between Sosúa and Cabarete is served all day by guaguas (shared minibuses) and motoconchos (moto-taxis) — both cost pocket change and are how most residents move around. A scooter or car adds freedom for big grocery runs, but plenty of long-term residents here never buy one. From Perla Marina, Sosúa's supermarkets and clinics and Cabarete's restaurants are each about ten minutes away.

Groceries and eating out

Local produce, rice, beans, chicken and anything Dominican is cheap; imported European or American brands cost more than back home. The pattern that keeps budgets sane: shop local at the markets and colmados, treat imported goods as the exception, and mix in Cabarete's restaurant scene deliberately rather than daily.

What a realistic month looks like

A single remote worker in one of our 1-bedroom apartments, using AC at night only, eating mostly local and moving by guagua, lives comfortably here on far less than in any North American or Western European city — with the beach a two-minute walk away. A family in a 2-bedroom scales the same logic. The two levers that move the total most are the apartment you choose and how you use air conditioning; everything else is small by comparison.

Questions we answer every week

We keep a growing list of the practical questions people ask before moving here — internet quality, power cuts, safety, whether you need a car — on our Living Here page.