SD Mail Forwarding Service timing

[AdvSeekers]

I feel as though I've scoured the FT forum for answers to my questions and haven't quite found them. I apologize if I am being redundant.

We plan to join the ranks of the FT lifestyle starting in January and are thrilled! We even sold our home and almost all of our belongings in less than 30 days! For the past 6 months we have been lurking on this site learning the ins & outs. Ya'll are very helpful, thank you! A few questions:

1. Receiving mail. I see that many of you save $$ by boon docking a bit here and there. This is great, and something we're learning may be the ticket. My concern is, how do you get your mail forwarded to you? More specifically, where can it be sent to during that time? We plan to use the SD mail forwarding service outside of Rapid City (Box Elder, I believe). I will be working from "home," and will require work-related mailings to be sent to me quite frequently, ie) weekly. So, receiving mail is important. OR, do we just need to stick to RV resorts/campgrounds where mail can be received?

2. Campground stays. We'd like to take the advice of many people on here who have suggested staying in areas for extended periods (30 days at least) to explore the areas. We like that idea, however, I feel like I'm seeing lots of max # of days restrictions at many places. How the heck can you stay someplace when campground restricts "long" stays? Is there a way around that? Which types of parks/campgrounds typically allow longer stays? Are they discounted if staying for a month if paying all at once?

3. Residency timing. We sold our home 2 months ago and have been living in a rental apartment until January 1st when hubby is done working. My question is, when is too soon to establish residency in SD? Do we need to wait until after January 1st when he is done working at his job (here in our home state), or can we do it now? We'd like to buy our rig at some point soon, and would like to be able to register it in SD. I was unsure whether his working in our current state would make things sticky in establishing residency in SD now. By the way, once we hit the road, we will not have a physical home-base. The road will be our "home."

Thank you SO much!

[restlesswind]

I get an email from the mail forwarding service,whenever new mail arrives,so I know if I want it sent to me or not.
I have had then open mail to check to see if it is important enough to send it to me.
My Dakota Address has worked really well for us the past 7.5 years.
We waited till after buying the TV and fiver to register in SD. Big mistake.
More than double the sales tax on the two vehicles.

[soren]

I question one comment made by a responder. The claim was that a post office many be difficult about receiving general delivery mail and may require the receiver to open a post office box.

We just moved to a rural area where delivery is not an option. I was surprised by the hostile and difficult process it was to actually obtain a USPS box. The biggest stumbling block was that they DEMANDED proof of a physical address. In my case it was a copy of the certificate of occupancy for a new home I had just built, a property deed WAS NOT acceptable. They also demanded two forms of ID from anybody receiving mail at the box, and it had to be presented in person. This was totally absurd since one of my kids was in school, 300 miles away at the time. When I asked about getting mail addressed to the DW and I, as executors for several estates we managed, they claimed that they would reject the mail if we didn't provide estate documents for them to review. I quickly concluded that they were bluffing, and dropped the issue. Obviously, with hundreds of boxes to stuff, every morning, I get everything with a correct zip code, and my box # on the label, no matter what name is on the piece, so they flat out lied about refusing mail.

That said, if they want to be, the can be real buggers about issuing a box, and in my case they were just following the letter of the law. I could be wrong, but I really can't see anybody who is just "passing through" getting a USPS box, now that we live in a post 911 world.

[MichiganTravele]

We use America's Mailbox and can't remember if we got our vehicle plates before we established our residency or not. However, you can become a resident be staying overnight. We flew into Rapid City and stayed overnight at America's Mailbox, got our receipt and went to the DMV to get our driver license. After that we drove to the courthouse to register to vote.

Hope this helps!

Bob

[AdvSeekers]

Great advice. I'll make the call today. Thanks!

[DianneOK]

AdvSeekers....This would be a great question to ask the mail service provider......

[AdvSeekers]

Thank you for all the help thus far. Our vehicles are actually due for registration renewals by/before October 31st, which is why we're wondering if we should do it in Kansas (pricier fees and taxes than SD). But with hubby still working in Kansas thru Jan. 1st, we were unsure if we could do that.

[jrp]

" My question is, when is too soon to establish residency in SD? Do we need to wait until after January 1st when he is done working at his job (here in our home state), or can we do it now? "

Changing your legal domicile is a process, not a one day event. You can start that process now and setup your mail service, begin switching all your accounts & personal affairs to that address. If you are still working and living fulltime in Kansas, I would wait till the last minute to change your vehicle registrations, and of course you will not change your drivers license until you leave Kansas and travel in person to SD.
Remember that one of the critical elements of changing your domicile (not your residency) is physically moving out of your previous state. It doesn't matter what you have setup in SD, until you actually leave Kansas, you are still considered domiciled in Kansas. If you or your husband are still working fulltime in Ks, that limits your flexibility for finalizing the change early. But no problem starting the process early.

[dons2346]

AdvSeekers wrote:
Thank you for the quick replies to both of you. Dons2346, if I go ahead and set up our mail service now, can we also go ahead and register our vehicles in SD too? Or, do I need to wait until we get our SD DLs and register to vote first?

To me, it would depend on when the current registration runs out. If you can wait until you are fully retired, I would do that. Your mail service should be able to register the vehicles for you, they do have to be registered in the county in which you "live". You then have, I think, 30 or 60 days to obtain your drivers license. You mail service should be able to give you advise on this. If they can't/won't, then you picked the wrong service. You will have to show up in person for your DL as you will have to take an eye test. This does not have to be done in the county in which you "live". Get your DL and then register to vote. In our case, we stayed in a campground for our permanent address and use our mailing address for all communication.

When you go for your DL, make sure you have a campground receipt with the complete address on it and just not "Acme Campground". They need the complete address ie. 123 street,podunk,sd. You should have your social security card or a statement showing you are getting SS. We also took our passport as proof of ID.

SD is following the govt requirements to prove who you are so don't get upset. If you have all the required docs, everything will go fine. We just renewed our DL's in July and it took us all of 30 minutes

[AdvSeekers]

Helpful info, all. Thanks!!!

[Eycom]

I work on the road in the east and here's my experience:

Boondocking and dry-camping in appropriate temps can be peaceful and relaxing. A NY winter with closed CGs or a S.E. summer w/o a/c is a bear. Neither is it cheap.

Check with your chosen mail forwarding service for enhanced options. Mine allows viewing of incoming mail on the day it arrives and I can instruct them to hold, send, scan the contents, or shred the envelope. It could be faster and cheaper in the long run, particularly when dealing with time sensitive issues. While some P.O.s don't permit general delivery, most do. You can confirm with a phone call to each branch. I've found it's best to use the P.O.s in small towns as opposed to larger cities with several branches.

Generally, fed/state/city&county campgrounds are designated for "short term" camping where ambiance trumps amenities. Two weeks seems to be about the norm. However, some entities do permit longer stays, sans mail delivery, particularly during the off-season. You have to ask and the price, with rare exception, will be at the already low daily rate. US Campgrounds provides a pretty inclusive list of public parks across the country. Relatively speaking, a monthly rate at a small mom&pop commercial park will provide more amenities and less ambiance at rates below government parks' daily rate.

Old-Biscuit gave you a good synopsis of setting up domicile.

[Old-Biscuit]

General Delivery...provided that post office accepts general delivery. Not all branches do so check with each post office and get their address for general delivery.

Have Americas Mailbox send mail USPS Priority .....usually get our mail in 2 days

Establish your mail forwarding service ASAP. That way you can start getting your mail address changes done.....
Then go to SD to get DL's, Vehicle registrations when it is convenient. Hubby can continue to work. Work and 'domicile' are separate issues.
Work......just have to abide my the state tax laws for monies earned in that state.
SD no state income tax...so no filing. Federal only
Monies earned in Kansas.....file state income tax regardless of your 'domicile' (Federal filed using domicile state)

[AdvSeekers]

Thank you for the quick replies to both of you. Dons2346, if I go ahead and set up our mail service now, can we also go ahead and register our vehicles in SD too? Or, do I need to wait until we get our SD DLs and register to vote first?

[dons2346]

AdvSeekers wrote:


1. Receiving mail.You will have to plan ahead and select a post office that receives General Delivery mail. If time is a consideration, you will have to step up into the higher rates of postage to get mail to you faster.If you are gong to be in a campground, make sure you can receive mail there, if not, then back to General Delivery.

2. Campground stays.Most campgrounds have a 30 day max for a good reason. If longer stays are allowed, then the place becomes a "nest" for people and tends to become shabby. Also,by law in some states, stays are limited to no more than 180 days. It has something to do with residency. If you or hubby is not an Elk, I suggest becoming one as a lot of Elk Lodges have campgrounds and the price is reasonable.

3. Residency timing.If your hubby is still working, you will be considered a resident of that state. get your mail service set up now and start transferring all your mail to there. Once he retires, go to SD for driver's license, register to vote and establish your finances.

[HappyKayakers]

Use general delivery at the nearest post office. You'll probably have to go to the nearest town on a weekly basis anyway for supplies. Some POs will limit the length of time you can get general delivery and force you to rent a PO box.

Campground stay restrictions are normally in the lower priced, but ever popular, state and national parks and forests. If you go to a commercial campground or RV park, extended stays shouldn't be a problem.