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Preparing to Full Time - information overload


EllieD

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I am trying to research all of the "administrative" type stuff that I need to take care of to go full time, but it is a bit overwhelming. I am living in PA, and am tempted to just leave my domicile as PA because it is one less thing to worry about. I will possibly have a storage unit here at least for a while until I see if FT is working out for me. If I am truly going to stay FT, then I will get rid of all the stuff, but I am not sure I'll get rid of everything right away. I have money saved and may be working some, but income tax is not really a big concern for me. PA doesn't have personal property tax. They do require a physical address for the drivers' license, so I am not sure how to go about that. PA also requires annual vehicle inspections, but here is a stupid question - who is going to give me a ticket for that if I am out traveling all over the country? Sure, I could get ticketed if and when I return to PA, but I would be getting an inspection as soon as I get back in state anyway. It just seems complicated to switch to SD or some other place - maybe it is not that difficult, everything just seems overwhelming at a time when I am doing this to simplify my life, not make it more complicated! Thanks for any thoughts - I guess my main question is...if the main concern is the state inspection, is it really a big deal? 

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I guess I'm not sure what the difficulty is with changing your domicile.  We full timed for 14+ yrs and in that time we changed domicile 3 times - first to FL, then to SKPs in Livingston Tx and finally to Sioux Falls SD.  SD was the easiest but none were hard.  Just make believe you are actually moving to another state and do what you'd do then. 

First you decide what state you are moving to and then get yourself an apartment (address & mailbox).  For our last move we decided, since we were buying a new rig, that we wanted to move to SD where the sales tax would be less.  So, online, we decided what 'apartment complex' suited us.  At the time it was named Alternative Resources ( I no longer full time and I believe they've changed their name).  While traveling through VA, we called Alt. Res. and rented our apartment (box) using our credit card.  They faxed a form to us which we signed and faxed back.  Maybe a total of 5 minutes and we were new SD residents. 

So then we sent our rig title to them and they, for I think $25, reregistered the rig in SD and mailed the plates and registration to us at our next stop.  We called our ins. agent and switch our insurances to SD and for the vehicles, used the PMB for the garaging address.  Another 10-15 minutes for changing our health and vehicle ins. 

Since we were moving from one PMB to another, a postal change of address was not available for that.  So we contacted, on line, all of the credit card etc companies and changed our address.  We kept our old PMB open for a month or so to make sure all change of addresses went through.  We notified our friends and relatives of our address change so if they wanted to mail Christmas cards etc., they could.

That left our drivers licenses.  After spending the winter in FL, we went to SD that following summer and traded in our old licenses for new ones.  If I remember right, SD wanted (not required) you to get your new DL within 6 months.  Getting the new DL took staying overnight one night in the county of domicile and having the camping receipt with you when you got the new DL.  The actual process took maybe 20 minutes for both my wife and myself.

Our prior domicile in TX was only complicated slightly by needing to be in state for a vehicle inspection prior to reregistration.  How much that may have changed since we first did that 15-20 yrs ago, I'm not sure. 

Whatever, you can still rent your apartment (mailbox) and get all your mail changed over prior to  actually changing domicile

Then
The puller - Wiers Towmaster (Int'l 4700LP)
and pusher - 40' Travel Supreme

Now

30' Winnebago Aspect TS
Signs of my new life

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Thanks for detailing the process. Reading this made me realize I guess it is just everything together that has to be done before going full time (including the research needed to choose a state of residence) that seems overwhelming...not any one particular aspect.  I have to sell the house (and all the prep that goes along with that), figure out when to quit my job, plus my dog is having health issues which has been very stressful. One step at a time and I will get there ?  Thanks for the perspective. 

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Just pretend you are going on vacation, arrange for somebody to pickup and fwd any mail that is needed. You can always call Motor Vehicles at inspection time and let them know you are out of state at the moment. 

Jim Spence

2000 Dodge 3500 1 ton QC 4x4 dually 5.9 diesel LB

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You are overthinking all this. First is get your house prepped and on the market, then you can think about everything else. You will need a PA address to maintain it as domicile and that means PA taxes. Inspection is the least of your concerns.

We are going through the same process now. We are prepping our house for sale, we decided to pack as much as we can and leave what we need to live on in the house for now. That way when the house sells, if we are on the road, we will fly/drive back and  have minimal to pack. 

We have a wonderful service in town who will empty the house of what we leave behind; sell what they can(70/30 split), clean the house up ready for  the new owners. This way we can pack, store everything, fly/drive back and be done with it. No need anymore to be around for closings etc. The wonders of the internet..............

We don't know where we will end up but have had and Escapees TX address for 20+ years so will use that as our domicile until we are tired of FT and find a place we want to call home. We know we will be out west someplace so we will ship and store near our daughter in AZ in case anything happens to us our belongings will be close to her.

Just make sure when/if you change domicile you cut all ties with PA. 

If you have some questions that you don't feel like posting here just PM me.

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Personal property tax is different from income tax.

I don't know if PA has an income tax.  I'm assuming they do, so if you work anywhere in any other state you will have to pay PA income tax on those wages.  That's the current benefit of moving your domicile to Florida, Texas, or South Dakota.

Having a storage unit or owning property in a state has nothing to do with Domicile.  Domicile is where you INTEND to live.  Like I INTEND to live in South Dakota at some point, so it is my Domicile state.  Now my plans change often,  and I travel constantly, so I may change my Domicile to another state as I choose if I find a better place to live.  In the mean time, My driver's license, and mailing address say I'm from Sioux Falls South Dakota.  No state income taxes on my wages that I earn traveling on the road, no jury duty to contend with, etc.

It takes 3-4 hours to establish domicile in the easier States.  In Texas, the Escapee's headquarters is in the town of Livingston, which can walk you thru the process in minutes if you have your paperwork in hand.  

 

Alie & Jim + 8 paws

2017 DRV Memphis 

BART- 1998 Volvo 610

Lil'ole 6cyl Cummins

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Others have about covered it but I'll mention two things: you don't have to return to Texas for yearly inspections. You can go online and check that you're not in Texas.  Secondly, if you're on Medicare you good to go. However, if you're younger, medical insurance is a very big issue at this time. It can be very costly and who knows what's in store for the future. You need something you can travel with.  Good luck!  It seem overwhelming but take one step at a time - first medical and selling your house.

Full-timed for 16 Years
Traveled 8 yr in a 2004 Newmar Dutch Star 40' Motorhome
and 8 yr in a 33' Travel Supreme 5th Wheel

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Being a 50 plus year resident of PA. before going fulltime, PA is not fulltime friendly for various reasons. But if you aren't sure if fulltiming will work for you, I'd hold off on making big changes. Don't worry about PA vehicle inspection. When out of state that sticker or lack thereof means absolutely nothing. When coming back into PA, you have a certain amount of time to get the vehicle inspected, I just don't remember how long. This is our 14th year of fulltiming and we cut ties to PA. when we left in 2003. Only thing I miss is Lebanon Bologna, Shoo-Fly Pies and Sticky Buns.  

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20 hours ago, LizD said:

 They do require a physical address for the drivers' license, so I am not sure how to go about that. 

 

And that is the #1 reason for people looking for a new domicile state. The second reason is that PA does have a state income tax while none of the three most popular states for domicile have one. 

Good travelin !...............Kirk

Full-time 11+ years...... Now seasonal travelers.
Kirk & Pam's Great RV Adventure

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Thanks all for the good advice and feedback. I am not really planning on working for a little while (or not much anyway), so I wasn't too worried about the income tax. I will check out the health insurance piece and give more thought to the other stuff as well. 

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6 hours ago, LizD said:

I am not really planning on working for a little while (or not much anyway), so I wasn't too worried about the income tax.

 

Does PA tax pensions or retirement income? If your income is enough to pay federal income tax there is a good chance that PA will do so also. 

Good travelin !...............Kirk

Full-time 11+ years...... Now seasonal travelers.
Kirk & Pam's Great RV Adventure

            images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQqFswi_bvvojaMvanTWAI

 

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PA doesn't tax retirement income. I still have a lot up in the air about how I'll pay for this ?   I have enough in savings to last a while.  I don't want to spend all of that, but it was saved specifically for that purpose so I won't feel desperate for dipping into it as needed.  I am hoping to enjoy traveling for a bit and not have to worry too much about the money, but maybe pick up a little part time work or work for campsites to stretch my savings. eventually, of course, I'll have to work more. I know I need to confront the domicile issue, and there really seems to be no reason to leave it as PA, I just need to look at health care, etc and figure out the best option. 

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