Long shot, anyone used WA state as home base?

[Jfet]

We want to go full time next year and are current residents of Washington state. Washington state doesn't come up on the usual suspects of RV'r domicile choices for some reason (South Dakota, Florida, and Texas being the three).

The only mail forwarding service I have found is called Wanderers. By any chance have one of you used this?

Also interested in health care plans with national coverage.

We may end up switching domicile to Florida since there seems to be a big support system there for full time RVing. The initial hit on vehicle registrations is big though (we have up to 4 things that need registering, so $800 plus fees unless motorcycles and sailboat are cheaper)

[Old-Biscuit]

gotsmart wrote:
I fulltime in WA (and in OR, and sometimes in ID). I rent a private mailbox at in Aberdeen, WA. Wherever you rent a mailbox in WA you'll want your mailbox in a non-emmissions testing county. For vehicle registration purposes avoid Clark County, King County, Pierce County, Snohomish County, and Spokane County.

I don't receive a lot of mail anymore so I use their free “Mail Check” service and "on demand" forwarding. They have a note on my mailbox to throw away all circulars, catalogs, and flyers. When I call they read the envelopes to me. I tell them what to throw away, what to forward to me, and what to put back in my mailbox. I give them my CC number. Done. I don't have to keep an account balance with them for postage (some providers do).

Basically I'm saying that one does not have to sign up with a national mail service. I searched and found a small-time operator with excellent customer service. I call them up, ask for my mail, they send it to me and put my CC receipt in the envelope. For me, that's perfect.

What do you use for your 'legal address' for drivers license, vehicle registrations, ins. (medical/vehicle) IRS etc. etc. ?

[enblethen]

My brother used UPS. They have a physical address.

[gotsmart]

I fulltime in WA (and in OR, and sometimes in ID). I rent a private mailbox at in Aberdeen, WA. Wherever you rent a mailbox in WA you'll want your mailbox in a non-emmissions testing county. For vehicle registration purposes avoid Clark County, King County, Pierce County, Snohomish County, and Spokane County.

I don't receive a lot of mail anymore so I use their free “Mail Check” service and "on demand" forwarding. They have a note on my mailbox to throw away all circulars, catalogs, and flyers. When I call they read the envelopes to me. I tell them what to throw away, what to forward to me, and what to put back in my mailbox. I give them my CC number. Done. I don't have to keep an account balance with them for postage (some providers do).

Basically I'm saying that one does not have to sign up with a national mail service. I searched and found a small-time operator with excellent customer service. I call them up, ask for my mail, they send it to me and put my CC receipt in the envelope. For me, that's perfect.

[Jfet]

Thanks for the replies. We are new to this and I am trying to figure out everything before we set off. That travelingmailbox looks interesting except the zip code is indeed in a zip code that requires emission inspection (our home zip now does not). You can get the inspection up to 365 days ahead of time, so it might not be a deal killer plus we likely would pass back through Washington in later years on our way to Alaska (after visiting the southern states).

So if you sold your house in April and switched your mail and home address to something like that travelingmailbox, is that it? You just tell your vehicle insurance company you have moved? (but you really haven't moved...it all sounds like bordering on fraud unless you go with one of the tried and true domiciles like the Escapees Florida and Texas addresses)

[nomad_289]

WA had very high health insurance costs pre-ObamaCare, and they still seem higher than many states. South Dakota costs are Way up.

I imagine mail-forwarding could be found anywhere, and should not be a major factor in choosing a domicile.

With no sales tax and if you have connections in WA it might be worth trying your first year.

[aslakson]

We looked at WA and couldn't find a mail handling service that could provide a valid domicile address that wasn't in an area that required annual vehicle inspections. So we chose South Dakota. Medicare is national, so that wasn't a factor for us.

Just gt our 2015 license tag notice - it'll be $87 for the car, $195 for the motorhome, including vanity plates on both.

al

[amandasgramma]

We used www.travelingmailbox.com.....they have choices for addresses and one is Washington. I liked their method......I could SEE what the mail was and determine whether to have it forwarded or shredded.

I don't know why people don't consider Washington.....it's one of the "tax friendly" states. It does high sales tax however, if you're on the road, you won't be paying it there.....you will in LOTS of other states.