Walkabout
 

so, this will seem like an odd post;

After the whole covid thing I'm thinking of selling up and go a bit 'Jack Reacher', meaning just hitting the Greyhounds and exploring the country. As background, I have worked since I was 15 and never taken time out. This would mean mean me selling my house in Fairfax. Just looking at the issues, several come to mind.

1. Who do I register my LPR with? I know you are meant to let them know when you move, but as someone with no fixed address?
2. Same with my VA driving license
3. Having just done my taxes, again, the same, although I will not be employed.

Any ideas?.

Re: Walkabout
 

Where do you intend to receive any mail while travelling? I'd get a PO Box for that, and point USCIS to that too (if allowed).

Re: Walkabout
 

Hi, thanks for the reply,

That did spring to mind, I wonder if I could use a deposit box at my bank. Early days, just wondered if anyone else has done this.

Re: Walkabout
 

Go to some RV forums and ask the same question. Many people live in their RV year round traveling all the time and have solutions for all of your questions. Irv2.com, rv.net and rvforums.com are a few to start with but there are others out there. You will find solutions.

Re: Walkabout
 

I currently live full time in an RV and we use Good Sam Mail Service. There are several others.

They receive our mail and send an email with a picture of the mail. We can request that they open and scan, mail to us at any address we choose, or shred and destroy it.

We have drivers licenses using that address. Our vehicles are registered there and we are registered to vote.

We were already Florida residents when we sold our house. It may be more difficult if you are out-of state but it is all possible.

One other benefit which may not be an issue for you right now: Florida has no state income tax.

Re: Walkabout
 

Apparently permanent RVers and those living the "van life" favour switching their residence and drivers license to SD, which you can do while literally taking just a one night stay in the state. SD has no state income tax.

I would guess that a lot of people register a PO Box in SD while they're there. And a related tip, if you want to disguise your mailing address, at least from the casual observer, you can use "Apt #1234", rather than "PO Box1234", and then the actual physical address of the location, whether a UPS mail box or a true USPS PO Box). And this isn't just some theoretical idea, I have seen it done a number of times while checking addresses/ residences myself. So unless they live nearby, the only way someone would know is by checking the address on Google Street View.

Re: Walkabout
 

South Dakota is popular also for avoiding huge taxes that some states charge on luxury vehicles including RVs.

The problem with a PO box (including UPS mailboxes) is they don't forward the mail. You have to physically go to collect it. That's where the mail forwarding services as mentioned above excel.

Re: Walkabout
 

UPS offers mail-forwarding mailboxes, or at least they used to.

Re: Walkabout
 

There are some legal issues around 'addresses'. When my business partner and I started our consulting company (S-corp) in 2014 (since shut down), neither one of us wanted to use our home address as the 'legal address' for the company, and the rules for company registration forbid PO boxes. Apparently, they want a real 'brick and mortar' location where you can be 'legally served' (if someone wants to sue you, for example). We ended up getting a 'private' PO box through some local outfit, and they allowed us to use 'Suite 1234' in place of the mailbox number (so this sounds like your 'Apt #1234' option, and the 'Good Sam' option chawkins99 mentioned). This 'worked' for us, but I don't think it was ever really legal.

In googling around, it sounds like you can't use PO boxes for credit cards, bank accounts, drivers licenses, etc ... but maybe states like SD and FL just don't bother enforcing this? For banks, credit cards, etc then I guess as long as you have already established the account, they will be willing to change your address to a PO box (or a 'suite / apt #' fake address). From what I'm reading, you can change your mailing address on a drivers license to a PO box, but you must still have a physical address. So again, once you 'have' the drivers license, cutting over to a PO box maybe doable (as opposed to trying to get a DL for the first time in some location).

There's been a recent push to make Drivers Licenses 'Real-ID' compatible (for use as a Federal ID card), which means, enhanced security checks ... and I can't imagine they would let you get away with a PO box for that.

Also - what about voter registration? With all the hoopla around voter fraud, I can't imagine getting away with a 'Good Sam' type service. I guess if you don't want to vote, not an issue. Note - the Good Sam site has an FAQ about this - they defer to the local voter registration office :)

The Good Sam site FAQ page is rather interesting ... they even suggest you can get a passport using their address! Sounds like a huge Homeland Security disaster waiting to happen! https://goodsammailservice.com/faq

Re: Walkabout
 

Our bank insist on a physical address, as do American Express but are fine using the mailbox as a mailing address. This gets difficult as we can move regularly. When they have required us to update the physical address, we just used the monthly bill from the campground as proof, if required. If I try to update the address online, they recognize the address as a PO box and reject it. Not all financial institutions are that picky.

For the drivers license, I used a bank statement with the mailing address on it. No issues and I just renewed my license and CCW this past week. No problems.

We are registered to vote using the mailing service. So far, we have not tried mail-in voting but have physically gone to the polling station which is nearly 2 hours away. The people checking us in know that we are RVers and usually comment on that.

There are regular discussions on the RV forums regarding this and the legality etc. There are thousands of people using this service without issue. I'm not aware of anyone reporting legal problems around it.

Re: Walkabout
 

Some years ago I tried to change my address on a bank database to a PO Box ..., and the attempted change was rejected. I was however able, successfully, to change the address to P0 Box ... (yes, the database didn't object to P"zero" :lol: ) and I used that address for several years without the bank ever complaining. ... I would hope that address verification has improved since then!

So far as the requirement to use a "brick and mortar" addess for corporations goes, it is likely a no harm, no foul matter - if you hide your location for fraudulent purposes then that isn't going to end well for you, but unless someone has problems contacting you at your actual business location, by phone, or email, or otherwise knows how to get hold of you, the reality is than nobody is likely to care particularly.

Re: Walkabout
 

Both the bank and Amex recognize the street address as a mailing address, even without the addition of the box/suite/apt/unit #.

Re: Walkabout
 

That's a good thing, at least from the banks' perspective .... I suspect that it is the zipcode that is triggering the banks' systems as PO Boxes typically have unique zip codes, i.e. the 5-digit primary zip is unique to a PO Box location.

Re: Walkabout
 

In our case, neither of us wanted to bother going to pick up mail (we never expected any so it was typically junk). When we folded the company in 2020, my partner went there and there was a massive amount of mail for us (6 years worth!), and a lot of it was official government stuff - census bureau, state tax board wanting to audit us for employee benefits (we didn't have any employees), and more. Thankfully, we never got into trouble for ignoring all of it! If I ever go down that path again, I'll pay more attention!

Re: Walkabout
 

I went to check our PO Box last weekend, which I only do occasionally as I don't expect any payments by cheque these days, and realized I hadn't been to collect our mail since last October. :rofl: There was little of interest, like you said, mostly junk, and I think only one bill of any sort, and only for about $60, so not worth the effort of harassing me over.