Escapee's FL Mail Service

[Tcwndsr]

We are leaning towards using this service when we start fulltiming next April. I understand we will really have 2 addresses, Florida for official state specific mail and Texas for everything else. Do you also use the Florida address for things such as banking, insurance and medical to reinforce that you are domiciled in Florida? Also, does the Florida address qualify as a physical residence for your drivers license? I am concerned about this because I will be transferring a CDL which is held to a higher standard because of Homeland Security regs. I'd appreciate comments from anyone with experience with either of these concerns. Thanks.

[Kirk W]

Let me suggest that you contact the Escapee office to get accurate information on your questions. The CDL is probably the most sensitive issue. In addition, I suggest that you take the time to read this article from Escapee's Magazine that may help with the domicile questions.

[Tcwndsr]

I have talked to Escapee's and they tell me " it should work" or "I don't see why it wouldn't work". Another FLA mailing service said their address definitely would not work for a CDL, so I have some concerns. I'm hoping to find someone who actually went through the process.

[AFchap]

I am confused on what you are wanting to do. Escapees has mail sevices in both TX and FL, and after reading your two posts several times I am unclear which direction you are wanting to go ...from TX to FL, or from FL to TX. If wanting to change TX domicile to FL as I think I understand, I would ask why bother since there is also the mail service in TX?

 

I do know that the TX mail service address has been tested in the courts and does stand as a legal home address. We used ours for every purpose possible. I do not know if the newer FL mail service has the same standing in that state.

[traviscarr]

When you sign up for a mail service address, your address that Escapees provides you with functions as a physical address for residency purposes. This is outlined in a mail service contract. I put a call into the Florida Driver License Office to confirm the requested information. They stated that as long as you have a proof of a physical address, you are able to obtain a Commercial Driver License. Florida Mail Service addresses are formatted 4602 Country Road 673, #(your box number), Bushnell, Florida. Most mail services provide you with a PMB, which does not work for Florida as a physical address. Florida DMV said that the address will work as long as they have proof of using the address as their address of domicile.

 

Regards,

 

Shawn Loring

[Tcwndsr]

Paul, the way I understand it, when you use the FL mail service you get both a FL and TX address. All normal mail such as from family, friends, investment statements, credit cards etc will go through TX. State specific, official mail such as vehicle registration, drivers license will use the FL address. I'm guessing this is because FL doesn't have the facilities to handle all mail.

 

Travis, thanks for the info. I had also called the county office but got the same type of non-comittal statements, not a definitive "Yes, this will work".

 

It would still be nice to hear from anyone actually using the FL mail service to see how the dual address is working out for them.

[bigjim]

Actually that was Shawn Loring, attorney, that replied. This is relatively new and may not have many users yet and no long term users in particular. I was curious if he meant to put county road instead of country rd. Not having to deal with the PMB is a plus in my opinion although it hasn't been much of an issue for me in a long time.

[Dutch_12078]

Actually that was Shawn Loring, attorney, that replied. This is relatively new and may not have many users yet and no long term users in particular. I was curious if he meant to put county road instead of country rd. Not having to deal with the PMB is a plus in my opinion although it hasn't been much of an issue for me in a long time.

 

The correct address for Sumter Oaks in Bushnell is "4602 County Road 673", so I'd say yes, it's a simple typo in Shawn's post.

[Kirk W]

Just so it is clear, Travis is the management contact for these forums so he took the issue to Shawn Loring and posted the reply for him.

[Onthego]

 

The correct address for Sumter Oaks in Bushnell is "4602 County Road 673", so I'd say yes, it's a simple typo in Shawn's post.

 

You've got to love auto correct.

 

Jeff

[Biker56]

Some Mail forward services in FL. to check with.

 

MyRVmail by Passport America has a Unique physical address in Florida

 

St. Brendan's Isle will Assist with Florida Tag and Title Registration Process

 

Good Sam Probably same as MyRVmail . Will provide each member with a unique physical address which can be used to obtain a driver's license, vehicle registration, and setting up a bank account. As all of this will take time and careful planning, a trip to Crestview, Florida will be necessary.

[Tcwndsr]

I just came across one I hadn't heard of before, NATO out of Sarasota.

[Selah]

Why would you want two mail addresses, some things havi g a Texas address and other things having a Florida address? I'm obviously not understanding something here.

[Tcwndsr]

This is the way the Escapee's Florida service handles it, it's not my choice. Still hoping for someone actually using the service or someone from Escapee's to comment here about how this is working out.

[Dutch_12078]

I have no idea how it's working out in practice, but I can see the usefulness for those that want a Florida domicile, but still want to use the SKP's Texas remailing service for their general mail.

[Kirk W]

Still hoping for someone actually using the service or someone from Escapee's to comment here about how this is working out.

That would be nice to have but since the FL domicile is pretty new to Escapees, there aren't that many users and none have been with it for a long time. I can see no reason why it wouldn't work just fine since there is no requirement that we get our mail at the same location as we live. The PO box is an excellent example of that practice. Like you, I am anxiously waiting to hear more from some of the users.

[bigjim]

I believe NATO is one of the oldest services and was started to service traveling Circus performer who often have/had winter/off season quarters. A friend of mine that was already a Fl. resident when he started fulltiming used it for many years before becoming a New Mexico resident and starting to use Mail by Waldron out of Deming, NM. I personally am very satisfied with the SKP mail service and would consider it to maintain a FL. residence if needed. In my case I was already a Tx. resident when started using SKP mail serviceand was one of the main reasons I became and SKP in the 1st place. A side benefit for me is I was a Dallas resident when I started and when I "moved" to Livingston my vehicle insurance rate dropped significantly. That was something I had not thought about.

[scouserl41]

Not FL but we're using the South Dakota SKP service since July,

Here's how it's working for us:

Box Elder is our DOMICILE. (Permanent address). Our vehicles are registered there, our drivers licenses are there, voting cards, Federal Taxes, anything from SD go to that address.

Livingston is our MAIL FORWARDING SERVICE we give that to anyone who wants to send us mail.

Our credit cards, bank, phones, auto insurance use our domicile address as our physical address but have no problem sending mail to our mail service in TX.

Any mail sent to our domicile address automatically gets forwarded to our mail forwarding in Livingston.

Sounds complex but in use it's pretty seamless.

It gives us the benefits of low registration fees, better insurance rates,no vehicle inspections or smog, no State income tax and the ability to call one phone number and have our mail sent to wherever we are.

We're both retired and on Medicare so health insurance not an issue for us.

We could choose to do it all thru one mail forwarding service in SD alone but we've had so much fun being part of SKP's we chose to support them with our business.

BnB

[lb311]

I'm in the process of changing my domicile to Florida right now (will be flying to Bushnell next week to hopefully get my driver's license and vehicles registered, etc). I looked at St. Brendan's Isle and My RV Mail (also rebranded as Good Sam & Passport America) in addition to Escapees. SBI seemed to be slightly less expensive of the 3 (assuming you'll want the mail scanning service), and I greatly preferred by SBI and MyRVMail's "single" Florida address rather than Escapee's system of the FL/TX addresses. But in the end, Bushnell and Sumter County had much cheaper insurance costs for both vehicle and healthcare, so Escapees won out.

 

So far, I've been able to change most things to the Florida physical and Texas mailing addresses, but some of my brokerage firms won't take the box numbers-- just the street addresses. Thankfully, I get almost all my correspondence from them electronically via email, so I don't think it will be a major deal.

 

I suggest calling the Sumter County Tax Collector's office to speak with their DMV folks (as these are the folks you'll be going to if you domicile in Bushnell). They were very helpful in answering my questions over the phone. Fingers crossed that they'll accept all my documentation next week and officially make me a Floridian!

 

Lynne

[Selah]

Still having trouble with the logic. If your spending the majority of your time in TX and only travel occasionally why do you want a FL address. If your traveling a lot and just need a mail service then why not use St. Brendan's Isle mail service. FL would be your official domicile and you have only one address for everything.

All seems un-necessarily complicated, trying to determine what type mail goes where and then when traveling having multiple mail packages sent from two different places.

[Dutch_12078]

Still having trouble with the logic. If your spending the majority of your time in TX and only travel occasionally why do you want a FL address. If your traveling a lot and just need a mail service then why not use St. Brendan's Isle mail service. FL would be your official domicile and you have only one address for everything.

All seems un-necessarily complicated, trying to determine what type mail goes where and then when traveling having multiple mail packages sent from two different places.

 

Mail that's sent to the Bushnell address is forwarded to Livingston for distribution through the regular mail service. Subscribers only need to deal with the Livingston location to have their mail sent on to them.

[Tcwndsr]

I think I have everything straight now. I'm with Lynne, we will be using Escapee's Florida because of the good health insurance options in Sumter County. It may be a bit more trouble to decide what mail needs to go to the FL address but not a big deal. I'm pretty confident the Bushnell address will work for my CDL also. We'll probably get things going and start to make the switch in January so we'll be ready to hit the road in April.

First stop: Bushnell.

Thanks to all for your response.

[Kirk W]

Thanks for letting us all know what you are planning! Do not hesitate to join in with other discussions and don't be a stranger!

[Nick Russell]

So if one uses the Escapees Florida mail service, what address will be on their drivers license and vehicle registrations? Will it be the street address of Sumner Oaks?

[Tcwndsr]

When you sign up for a mail service address, your address that Escapees provides you with functions as a physical address for residency purposes. This is outlined in a mail service contract. I put a call into the Florida Driver License Office to confirm the requested information. They stated that as long as you have a proof of a physical address, you are able to obtain a Commercial Driver License. Florida Mail Service addresses are formatted 4602 Country Road 673, #(your box number), Bushnell, Florida. Most mail services provide you with a PMB, which does not work for Florida as a physical address. Florida DMV said that the address will work as long as they have proof of using the address as their address of domicile.

 

Regards,

 

Shawn Loring

Yep, 4602 County Road 673 is Sumter Oaks RV Park.