I think we're approaching this bass ackwards

Question

First some history: my wife and I got married 53 years ago in a big church wedding that was planned and executed in about two weeks! From that start it should be obvious that long term planning is NOT one of our fortes.
So on to the present:
We have spent most of the last nine months as CG host for State Parks, and pretty much have the guaranty that we will be able to continue hosting for the foreseeable future. Over the last few months it has become apparent that we would need to invest a fair amount of money in our stick built if we are going to stay in it long term, and with the hosting gig we are not in it much presently, so we have decided to sell it and start the Fulltiming we have dreamed about for years.

To that end we have purchased a larger more livable trailer that should be delivered next week. What we haven't done is the pre-planning for domiciling health insurance, etc. I joined the Escapees last week and have been reading about the issues for years. My question is what else should I be doing? Our plan is to have the house sold by May.

Thanks.
Joe

dutchmensport · Answer

In addition to insurance, you'll need to make a decision where you want some kind of permanent residence, so your auto / RV insurance, drivers license, auto registrations all match. Then you need to figure out mail delivery.

If you have children, maybe one of them would let you use their address as a "permanent" residents. That's the easiest solution. If you don't have a family member who has a residence you can piggy back off of, you'll definitely have more challenges.

Income tax (if you work for hire anywhere) will also be another factor.

These seem to be the most common logistical issues that upcoming full timers ask about on these forums.

jim-linda · Answer

jmcgsd wrote:First some history: my wife and I got married 53 years ago in a big church wedding that was planned and executed in about two weeks! From that start it should be obvious that long term planning is NOT one of our fortes. So on to the present:We have spent most of the last nine months as CG host for State Parks, and pretty much have the guaranty that we will be able to continue hosting for the foreseeable future. Over the last few months it has become apparent that we would need to invest a fair amount of money in our stick built if we are going to stay in it long term, and with the hosting gig we are not in it much presently, so we have decided to sell it and start the Fulltiming we have dreamed about for years. To that end we have purchased a larger more livable trailer that should be delivered next week. What we haven't done is the pre-planning for domiciling health insurance, etc. I joined the Escapees last week and have been reading about the issues for years. My question is what else should I be doing? Our plan is to have the house sold by May. Thanks. JoeSince you have joined Escapees, I would approach them to domicle there. We have been using Escapees for ALL things you need to fulltime legally, with DL, mail, voting, vehicle reg's, etc. for 21 years, still doing it.Jim

toedtoes · Answer

While it's not part of the "legal paperwork" stuff, it can be a bear.  Go through the house now and sort out:  1)the stuff you will want in your RV with you; 2: the stuff you will want/need to keep but not take in the RV; 3) get your kids and grandkids to take what they want of the rest; 4) then start getting rid of what's left.  Don't wait to do it all in the last couple weeks - start going through it now so you get the house ready for sale (it's easier to sell an empty house).

captain_happy · Answer

As far as residence I'm using my son's home address for stuff like vehicles registration, insurance. Use Escapees for mail.

gopackgo · Answer

#1 - Decide on your Domicile state. Then everything else will fall into place.

Many people choose either Texas, Florida or sometimes South Dakota because they are considered to be full timer friendly and do not have a state income tax. Based on what others have posted, health insurance may be an issue in SD.

I strongly suggest that you set up everything - mail, register your vehicles, get your driver's license, etc in your domicile state.

Escapees can answer just about all your questions (full disclosure - I belong to Escapees).

FWIW, I chose Florida. Escapees now has mail service in Texas and Florida, but I use a different service.

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I think we're approaching this bass ackwards

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