Homebase research

Texas, in particular, Livingston, Texas is a popular place to domicile. The Escapees RV Club is based out of there and has a wonderful reasonably-priced mail forwarding service and the actual stree address that you will be given has been tested as 'legal' in the court system. Be aware that some other services where you use a post office box creates problems. We've used Escapees for 16+ years with no problems. This small city works nicely with the Escapee RV Club and the city knows how full-timers work. Everything is done easily. Vehicle registration and driver's licensing is easy and no problems with voting issues. You're easily excused from jury duty. Some folks will mention the vehicle inspections but if you never stay in Texas for a long period of time (not sure of the grace period anymore), you don't have to have the inspections done. You can just 'drive through' without having the inspections. If you do stay in Texas the inspections are a very nominal fee and are only for lights, turn signals, etc. Would also recommend you pick a small town for inspections, if needed, no the big cities like Dallas or Houston where you'll have emission issues, also. Yep, it's easy to become a Texan!

SD has no personal income tax working or retired!
I chose SD for residency for the reasons listed above but found that my vehicle insurance increased substantially from my previous FL address. The reps "claim" a full timers liability is higher than the concessional RV and full timers are turning to SD more and more the insurance companies are charging higher premiums. I tried multiple sources and the rates were all very close so it was not just someone trying to sell a bill of goods.

You may want to look at leaving your residency in AL. I have seen some lists that list Alabama as a low cost state in which to retire. I think it was because there was a very low tax rate on retirement income. (Or maybe retirement income was tax free). I only remember because I plan to establish my permanent address where our family farm is located, and when I read the article, I thought about the fact that the farm is less than 10 miles from the state line, maybe I could claim being a bit farther west.

If you are ready for Medicare yet, then SD may not be the best place for you because you will have very limited plans for individual health insurance, most of which will require you to be in the state for extended periods of time.

The last two items on Dennis's list are really not that much of a problem is you choose Texas. You only do the safety inspections if you are in the state - - we know people who have gone ~ 5 yrs between inspections. As to the special driving licenses - if you have a rig weighing more than 26,0003 and you can't pass the test, you have no business driving it on the road.

Barb

Executive wrote:
As I understand your question, you're looking for a State to CLAIM residency, not a State to retire in. That said, you might want to have this posted in the full timing forum and get real life advice and reasons why they chose their respective states.

We chose South Dakota because:
1. No State Income Tax
2. Low licensing fees, vehicle and drivers license.
3. Low sales tax. We paid 3%.
4. No vehicle inspections, smog or safety.
5. No special drivers license, such as Class B, etc.

Hope this helps....Dennis

And when you do this, you're not really choosing a specific town. You choose the state, then find a reliable mail forwarding service and their location dictates what town you'll "live" in.

sue

As I understand your question, you're looking for a State to CLAIM residency, not a State to retire in. That said, you might want to have this posted in the full timing forum and get real life advice and reasons why they chose their respective states.

We chose South Dakota because:
1. No State Income Tax
2. Low licensing fees, vehicle and drivers license.
3. Low sales tax. We paid 3%.
4. No vehicle inspections, smog or safety.
5. No special drivers license, such as Class B, etc.

Hope this helps....Dennis

Homebase research. Like posted above Florida, South Dakota, Texas is where a lot of FT'ers home base out of. Research the three, everyone is different so only you can make the decision that is best for you. Go through the Escapees forum, like already mentioned, a lot of good information there, they're out of Livingston Tx. They also have a RV boot camp I have heard.
Best of luck,
Scott

Just do a Google search on "Best Places To Retire" and you'll have plenty of readying material. Best places to retire can be based on many things:

Weather
Taxes
Housing Cost
Do you want a small town or large town
Do you want mountains, lakes, rivers, oceans
Medical facilities
Inheritancen taxes
Living costs
Recreation oportunities - fishing, camping, hiking etc
East coast vs. West coast
Overseasn or in the US
Near a large airport to fly / travel from or not
Etc, etc, etc.

Bill

Everyone's criteria for home base is different. I would contact Escapees in Livingston TX. TX is a great state for home base. Also FL and SD.
Lots of people also have full time addresses in TN but not sure about the tax situation. There is one book on amazon.com that got mixed reviews. (search for RV home base).

AARP does a yearly report on the best places to retire. You might want to start there.