States for Full Timing

[RIA]

A couple years ago I was getting ready to hit the road. Since then family issues came up & things got delayed. At that time, I had asked about vehicle registration, insurance, etc. A list of full time friendly states were given, Texas being one of them.
With the commotion going on in the house, I never thought to save any info except that Texas was RV friendly. Now, I jumped ship & left New York, w/my son not far behind. I am in Texas, w/a UPS box for mail. He is heading to Fla. to a waiting job.
My Question is, now that I am here what do I do next to take care of legalities before I wander west to enjoy MY life(family be damned)?

[noplace2]

Bottom line is that you should go where you want, when you want and establish domicile wherever it makes you comfy. We've been doing this FT thing for 14 years. If'n you are concerned about a few taxes, you likely aren't suited to this lifestyle.

And to Dianne, couldn't agree with you more re: CA.

[2gypsies1]

RIA wrote:
I was in Texas for a while but the constant rain ate me to the core. I drove to Arizona for some heat. My Geico will not cover me as of next month because I do not have a physical address. Really don't want to rent an apartment. I will be heading back to Texas at the end of the month to take care of business then to meet up w/my son for a bit. Do I need a UPS box or will a Post Office box do? What is the best insurance. I have a small DIY camper van & an impeccable driving record. Any recommendations would be appreciated.
By the way, the campgrounds in Arizona are snobs. Nothing over 10 yrs are allowed. I have encountered a lot of older RVs that are in great shape but don't get in.

Very few RV parks in Arizona go by the 10-year rule which, by the way, is also in all the other states. You must have stopped at the wrong park. We've never heard of problems in Arizona.

Escapees RV Club in Livingston, Texas has a great mail forwarding service. You can now also use them if you want a Florida or South Dakota address rather than Texas. We've used them for 18 years with no problems and traveled extensively as full-timers. They will give you a legal street address, proven in courts.

Escapees also has a nice network of Escapee-owned or co-op owned parks across the southern states in FL, AL, TX, NM, AZ along with TN, CA, OR and WA. There is definitely no 10-year rule in any of them and their site prices are very, very reasonable along with even cheaper monthly or seasonal rates.

[gotsmart]

RIA wrote:
I was in Texas for a while but the constant rain ate me to the core. I drove to Arizona for some heat. My Geico will not cover me as of next month because I do not have a physical address. Really don't want to rent an apartment. I will be heading back to Texas at the end of the month to take care of business then to meet up w/my son for a bit. Do I need a UPS box or will a Post Office box do? What is the best insurance. I have a small DIY camper van & an impeccable driving record. Any recommendations would be appreciated.
By the way, the campgrounds in Arizona are snobs. Nothing over 10 yrs are allowed. I have encountered a lot of older RVs that are in great shape but don't get in.

A Private Mail Box (PMB) like what you would rent at a UPS store (or other parcel store, or Escapees, etc) has a physical street address. P.O. Boxes do not have physical street addresses and, with a few exceptions, cannot be used as one's domicile.

[RIA]

I was in Texas for a while but the constant rain ate me to the core. I drove to Arizona for some heat. My Geico will not cover me as of next month because I do not have a physical address. Really don't want to rent an apartment. I will be heading back to Texas at the end of the month to take care of business then to meet up w/my son for a bit. Do I need a UPS box or will a Post Office box do? What is the best insurance. I have a small DIY camper van & an impeccable driving record. Any recommendations would be appreciated.
By the way, the campgrounds in Arizona are snobs. Nothing over 10 yrs are allowed. I have encountered a lot of older RVs that are in great shape but don't get in.

[Old-Biscuit]

jplante4 wrote:
California is now giving driver licenses to illegal aliens (excuse me, "undocumented workers"). Just go there. You should be able to get all kinds of free services.

9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals just ruled that AZ has to issue licenses also.

Funny how I had to prove citizenship to get mine :S

[DianneOK]

In talking to many full-timers over the years, I never met anyone who had a 'horror' story about being called for jury duty while they were on the road and not being able to get it postponed/ exempted

You didn't talk to me.....CA threatened me with jail time if I didn't get there to serve. If I didn't go, they would arrest me the next time I entered the state.....AND.....I wasn't even a resident!

It took the SD DMV to convince them I was not a CA resident. I STILL hate to go to CA......

[jplante4]

California is now giving driver licenses to illegal aliens (excuse me, "undocumented workers"). Just go there. You should be able to get all kinds of free services.

[PawPaw_n_Gram]

In talking to many full-timers over the years, I never met anyone who had a 'horror' story about being called for jury duty while they were on the road and not being able to get it postponed/ exempted.

[2gypsies1]

You don't have to be removed from jury duty rolls in Texas. If you're traveling you just have to give them a quick phone call. Nothing to it.

[Clay_L]

Note that in SD, and TX you can get removed from the jury duty rolls(SD) or get an exemption (TX). Don't know about FL.
That could be important when you are 2000 or 3000 miles away.

[BarbaraOK]

All of the things I saw for Georgia mentioned that they had family there or someone who would get their mail. There is not, as far as I know, a mail forwarding service geared towards fulltime RVers - that is another big factor for those who fulltime. In Tx, SD, & Florida, the mail forwarders know about fulltimers and the address that you have will also give you a physical address for registering vehicles, drivers licenses, and VOTING, which isn't always the case in other states. Plus the county people where the mail services are located also know about how to handle jury summons for those who are fulltiming.

Barb

[journey15]

C-Bears wrote:
Based on another recent post under another topic, may want to add Georgia on that list of states.

You might want to look at this this thread before deciding on GA. Just saying because I think we have changed our minds. I know this is not Texas but good info for investigation.

[PawPaw_n_Gram]

jasonsstover wrote:
Do most people like it? Anything to worry about privacy wise?

Most of the major mail services move so much mail through every day, there simply isn't time for a snoopy employee to bother searching for something.

The companies do carefully screen their new employees.

You have more privacy than a homeowner who does not have their mail put into a locked mail box everyday.

[jasonsstover]

Do most people like it? Anything to worry about privacy wise?

[Dutch_12078]

jasonsstover wrote:
Please tell me more about this 'rv mail'.

"MyRVMail" is a Florida based mail forwarding service that specializes in services for RV'ers. Another popular Florida based mail service is "St Brendan's Isle".