Scared; Retiring from Military; Where to File Taxes, get Drivers License

[Gina3]

Greetings, A very nice individual told me about this website today and I'm grateful.

I'm new here and to full timing soon.  I will be retiring from the military but will still need to work so hope to find a campground or a descent paying outdoor job except maybe for winter time : - ).  It's just myself and a little one.  I/we love mountains but many places that have beautiful mountains are not affordable or have bad school scores according to greatschools.com .  I'm feeling upset about that and I'm a nervous nilly about it all.  To top all this off, I am not sure how I will be doing taxes or drivers license because I have no home or family other than us and all we have done is move around. My birthplace was in FL. My drivers license is from another state because I am military. How can I get a place to call home if I don't want to purchase a home because I'm not sure I want to settle yet?  I'm not sure how to ask my question but I heard some individuals in a campground talking about something like RV timeshare.  The lady had mentioned something about always having a place to park their motor home and having a mail forwarding service. 

I'm feeling so confused and scared because I am not even comfortable with my Dutchman Aerolite RV travel trailer yet.  I pray I don't mess up, tear up the trailer or anything or find ourselves homeless because I can't figure out the trailer and break it.  I would love to be able to fulltime but don't think I really can afford it or not sure how but either way I want to live in a campground.  I'm so not ready to retire but it's coming in a few months and I have too.

Thanks for any help and advice and thanks most of all to the individual to told me about this website.

Gina

[SWharton]

Welcome to the forum and thank you for your service. I would  like to make a few suggestions: go to RV Driving School and Boot Camp to become comfortable with your rig; Escapees has a mail forwarding service and TX is an easy place to get a drivers license etc. There is a file on the Escapees website "How to Become a Texan". Contact the Xscapers group, primarily younger people with children they should be able to give you some guidance. Is home schooling an option?

There are many campgrounds where you can be a "permanent", that shouldn't be a problem. I wouldn't purchase anything until you know what you really want and where. You can permanently rent sites(1 yr lease) so that you can always return to it if that is what you want.

Others will chime in with additional suggestions.

[Kirk W]

Welcome to the Escapee forums! We are here to help and should be able to advise on most items. 

The first question is, do you plan to live in the RV and stay in one location so that your child can attend a local school and so that you can hold a regular job? Another option would be to home school and travel, finding some means of earning extra income above your military retirement while traveling. There are options for doing that and if you are only thinking of supplemental income it is very easy to find that sort of jobs. 

If you plan to stay mostly in one place to hold a job and attend school, then it is pretty easy to figure out where to get your driver's license and to register and insure your vehicles as that must be in the same state that you reside and work in. Florida can be a good choice as there are many RV parks there which cater to long term residents. Texas is also a good choice and neither of those states has a state income tax and they both will allow you to use a mail forwarding service as your permanent address for all purposes. Not many states accept the mail service address for licenses and vehicles so those two would be good places to consider. 

I don't know anything about the Florida schools but do know that in Texas the quality of school varies widely by school district. I have grandchildren in the Garland School District and do know that they have an excellent education program. I can also tell you that the Dallas/Ft Worth metro area, of which Garland is a part, is an excellent job market at this time. If you were to choose this area it would be quite easy to use the Escapees RV Club mail service as your permanent address as we have done so for a very long time. 

Another advantage of choosing either FL or TX is the fact that neither of them has very much harsh winter weather and so living in your RV would be less difficult than in many other states. If you were to tell as more about yourself and your needs we could probably give better advice but this is what comes to my mind at this point. Feel free to post as many questions as you have and we will do our best to help. 

[Kirk W]

22 minutes ago, Gina3 said:

I'm not sure how to ask my question but I heard some individuals in a campground talking about something like RV timeshare.  The lady had mentioned something about always having a place to park their motor home and having a mail forwarding service. 

There are many RV parks in both TX & FL that have monthly or annual rental arrangements for the more permanent resident so that should not be a major problem. In addition, the Escapees have co-op parks that are member owned in which you buy a membership that includes a lot and it can be your permanent home and can be sold to another when you choose to move away. But those may not be located where you need to be for schools and work as most of the members in such parks are retired. There are many working folks and families in the longer term RV parks so you would not be at all unique in doing so. 

[kb0zke]

Welcome, Gina. Thank you for your service.

I would suggest that you start by figuring what you want to do. If you are going to stay in one place for school reasons, traveling only during school vacations, then you may want to consider getting an apartment or house. That will allow you to get a fairly fuel-efficient vehicle, and you won't have to worry about finding an rv park.

If you are going to travel a lot during the school year then you will need to road school. We weren't able to do that, as my work was tied to a specific place. If you can work from your rv (app developer, for example) you can probably do this. I don't know what the regulations are for that, though, so be sure to do some research.

Getting a drivers license ought to be pretty straightforward. Once you decide on a State you can find out what it takes to get a license there. Licensing a vehicle will be a similar process. Many, if not most, States have this information online.

Back to my second paragraph, if you decide to settle in one place for a while you can spend some time researching exactly what it is you want to do as a full-timer, which will determine what sort of rv you need.

[Gina3]

Thank y'all!  I'm not sure how to reply as I tried but for some reason it didn't work so now you also know I am not tech savvy. 

Thank you S Wharton for the great sound advice!  I will be sure to follow-up and look at all the information.

Thank you also for the great sound advice Kirk Wood..honestly, I know it isn't good for us in an RV but we really like the mountains and snow for Christmas.  Growing up near FL, I cried for snow.  I do not want to put my little one in a position that we may be cold or anything and that makes me feel nervous too.  I know the south is great but I grew up running to the basement because of tornadoes so I feel so scared of living where tornadoes are and they can just pop up over night while sleeping without warning.  I get so scared!  Plus mold is bad down south for RV's too right?  I'm not sure the best place to go.  I like the idea of home schooling but feel I cannot do it.  My son did say he would like to travel though but I also want him to have some kind of stability since he's already moved around alot.  But yet I'm torn because I want him to see the world, places we haven't been.  So sounds like I'm not sure what I want.

Yes to your first question but I only want to live in a place until I know for sure I want to call it home and can afford to purchase a house as I will only be blessed enough to be receiving my retirement pay and job pay.  I sort of want to buy a house and I sort of would rather try to save money for my little one to buy a house with when he is older.  I was told buying land is best.  Maybe I should do that just to have an address while we travel around and try to figure out where we want to live.

All I know is I love campgrounds and he does too.  That life smells good, feels good, looks good and brings us so close to each other.  We play outside more it seems.  I was talking to my Command Sergeant Major and she said if I have a dream, I should at least try it which makes sense.  What if I don't make it till I'm older and I keep waiting to do my dream..I'm 47 and we never know what could happen and when.  I want my son to be happy too but he is young and not sure what he wants.  It seems he wants what I want which is sad because I want him to want what he wants but he's too young to know of course...heck, I don't even know so I just want to try and go, go, go : - ) yet be able to afford to go, go, go.  One thing I thought about is pulling that trailer around is going to be hard.  I would like to park it in places on the road while we go to figure out where we want to live or stay for a bit.  I love it but it's a pain by myself and my back hurts so bad at times.  I'm so thankful for everything.  I even thought about going to Canada.

Thank you so much!!

Vr

[Gina3]

I'm wondering if I can live in military campgrounds and put my son in school until I figure out where we want to be.  Maybe that's what I will do.

[eddie1261]

I am curious about the boot camps and driving school. The nearest driving school to me is 3 hours away at RV speeds. By the time I would get to that school for a lesson, I would likely have a really good grasp on how to drive it. Then I'd have my class and have a 3 hour drive home. That seems kind of like telling someone who needs flying lessons to fly into an airport to take their flying lessons. Can someone tell me what happens during those driving lessons that I couldn't do myself in an empty parking lot? The car I traded in was 18.5 ft long. The RV is 25, but obviously much heavier and more top heavy. The FJ Cruiser was just under 6000 pounds. This RV is 10,250, so being aware of the topple factor and much slower braking is kind of common sense. It would be good to learn from someone with experience, but when they are 3 hours away, THAT is the experience, the 6 hour round trip.

The boot camp part I assume is more about how to flush tanks, maintaining things....

[Nomad Hiker]

One, I don't know how old your son is, but you said "little one".  With that, I'm guessing he really is not old enough to understand the ins and outs of this decision and perhaps his desires or thoughts should not carry as much weight as yours.  If you plan to do, this then I certainly would recommend and RV training school.  We did that are are very glad we did.  My husband is retired DOD, we sold our house and we are traveling because, like you, we don't know where we want a house, but we also don't have to think about a child in school.  You mentioned that he has had to move a lot.  How did he adapt?  Did he like moving?  Was he sad to leave?  Does he make friends easily?  Do his studies suffer with moves or does he excel?  The answers to some of these questions might help you decide whether to find a stable spot long term and just travel in the summer.  Remember this is not a decision that has to be made immediately.  You can find somewhere close by and just experience the campground life for a while.  See if you like it full time?  You can take the trailer out on holidays, long weekends and summer break.  I have personally found that If I'm that confused and scared about a decision, then perhaps the timing is not quite right.  Perhaps you just need more prep time?  The snow will always be there! LOL.  The mountains aren't going anywhere.  Having said all that.  You have come to a good place for input to weigh before deciding.  Best of luck to you!

[Nomad Hiker]

11 minutes ago, eddie1261 said:

I am curious about the boot camps and driving school. The nearest driving school to me is 3 hours away at RV speeds.

Some of the instructors will come to you for an additional fee which might be worth it.  I just went through 2 days of training (2 of us).  Our trainer came from Southern CA to Arizona for us.  He met us at the dealership when we picked up our rig and left with us when we drove it off the lot.  I don't know what boot camp is.  We didn't do that.

 

[eddie1261]

46 minutes ago, Gina3 said:

I'm wondering if I can live in military campgrounds and put my son in school until I figure out where we want to be.  Maybe that's what I will do.

You certainly have that option being retired. I do not have that option just by having served. I checked and that one I am sure of.

[Gina3]

Ha...funny : -)  Thank you guys! 

I am supposed to be retiring they say Dec or Jan...I have over 20 years but am going through a medical board so they just say be ready to go in a couple of months : -(.  I purchased our RV down the road so happen to get lucky recently.  Here campground waits are 1 - 2 yrs.  I visited one about 20 miles away and figured out I couldn't pull it around the curves and hills...I'm too scared.  I told them to take me off the list.  Luckily they didn't and they called me last week and said they had an opening.  I figured since I purchased the trailer nearby and will leave soon, I better take advantage of living in it here close to the dealership before I leave town and my house hold goods are picked up.  So i took the spot and we are moving soon. Hopefully this will help us before we actually get away from people we know. 

I'm not sure how to get to the information about the boot camp or driving school here.  I have to figure that one out.

I was just googling military campgrounds...nice but hard to get into some of them.  I'm terrible at planning ahead which also makes me nervous.  Not sure how to properly use my tanks.  Everyone has there own way...plus if we leave in Dec, I need to winterize it and not use water in the trailer in case pipes burst unless I am able to stay here until he finishes school which is what I want to try and do.  That would be awful!  Yes, I'm felling the pressure!!!  I wish I had a family to follow around campgrounds and knew I would be ok financially at doing this.  So many things are running through my head.  I start searching campgrounds, then get sidetracked with looking for affordable mountain cities with good schools, then start looking at campground jobs, then forums, then look at campgrounds in FL....I am just all over the place.  I did absolutely nothing but sit and Google today.  It was nice though but just haven't really gotten much closer.  At least I have some ideas from you all to research so thank you so much!

I am scared!  I know I have to be positive and I am grateful we will have an income.  I talked to my sons school here and they said he could flunk if we get stuck in snow on the way to where we go and he misses school.

I may just have to hang out here but I certainly do not want to get stuck here in CA.

 

[phillyg]

If your military home of record is FL, I recommend keeping it for tax purposes.  Get a FL drivers license and title and register your vehicles there.  Living in military CGs is iffy. AEach installation makes the rules, and "homesteaders" are frowned upon as military CGs are not intended for full-time living. Take a look at militarycampgrounds.com for basic info.

[Gina3]

Thank you Phillyg but I don't have a residence in FL anymore. 

 

[Ray,IN]

2 hours ago, Gina3 said:

I'm wondering if I can live in military campgrounds and put my son in school until I figure out where we want to be.  Maybe that's what I will do.

This may be doable, however some military famcamps have time limits. You may learn more by visiting militarycampgrounds.us and browsing the website for famcamp locations and reading their rules and regulations. Each base commander sets the rules and regulations for any famcamps under their command, so you will see several differences in famcamp rules. Contact the base commanders office where you desire to stay, and ask them to address your specific questions.

Escapees discussion forums has a veterans board you may find useful too, since many SKP's are veterans.

[lenp]

What part of the country do you think you would like to settle (NE, NW, SW, SE)?  Where are you now?  Perhaps one of us could meet with you and put some of your fears to rest.  I think we all had a few (fears) when we first started this "adventure".  Many of us went from a small trailer to a bigger and then again bigger rigs over the years and have grown comfortable with them.  It is just that first step that is hard.

As for military campgrounds, many are hard to get into or limit your stay to a few weeks.  At the Yuma Proving grounds you can make a reservation twelve months in advance and stay for six months (or something like that) while others are very restrictive and may not be the most economical option for you.  We use them occasionally IF they happen to be where we are but they seldom are.  I find most of my campgrounds through various clubs and websites.  Take a look at the links section of my website for a few of the tools I use.

The Escapee park system is certainly an option and I suspect more economical than military campgrounds.  Many folks stay in these parks for extended periods of time and some lease a lot.  Many of the parks do have age restrictions that you need to be aware of.

Feel free to PM me if you want.

And thanks for your service!!!!!

Lenp

[remoandiris]

Hi Gina.  Have you been thru transition assistance yet?  Some of your questions/concerns can be answered there.  I believe all branches made it a mandatory requirement prior to separation or retirement.  In the USAF it is a multi-day seminar.  DO NOT WAIT ANY LONGER TO GET SCHEDULED AND ATTEND!!!

What does your LES say is your state for tax purposes?  That is your starting point, IMO.  Whatever that state is, it is your current legal domicile.  Changing domicile is VERY easy.  You do NOT need to buy a home to establish domicile.  You can search this forum for a LOT of info on establishing domicile.  Here is one site created to help nomads; http://rubbertramping.com/how-to-establish-legal-state-residency-domicile-as-nomad/

This is one site with workamping jobs.  FYI, many workampoing jobs do not include pay, just your site.  But, many others do pay a wage.  http://workampingjobs.com/workampingjobs.php 

Another thing you're gong to have to decide is what Tricare you want.  Wife and I still have Prime and like it.  It is easy to use even when traveling.  For a person who moves a LOT, Standard (or whatever it is called now) may be a better option.   You may want to stop by your local Tricare Service Center or do your research online to find the best fit.

Dental insurance is where I had questions when I retired.  IMO, Delta is KRAZY expensive!!  Do what you can to get your little one seen shortly before you leave your current assignment.  That way you do not have to rush to get a dentist.  You will have an exam as part of your retirement processing unless you already had an appointment within 6 months of your retirement.  If you do not get an exam within 6 months of retirement, the VA is required to give you one and fix what needs fixed.  I don't have kids.  Wife and I found going without dental insurance is fine for us for now.  We just get exams when we receive coupons in the mail from local dental offices offering low-cost exams/xrays/cleanings.  Neither of us has needed dental work for several years.

O.k., something else...do you have life insurance besides SGLI?  If not, GET IT NOW!!!!!!  It is very easy to do...just get online and get quotes for 30- yr TERM life insurance.  Reason I said get 30-yr term is because it will probably be the last time you need to buy life insurance.  Life insurance is to REPLACE lost income/cover living expenses, NOT to be a WINDFALL for beneficiaries.  If you're under 45, it should be relatively cheap. Figure $200K - $400K to make sure your little one is taken care of thru college.  IMO, VGLI is KRAZY expensive!!  Additionally, I do NOT believe the Survivor Benefit Plan is worth the cost.  SBP is nothing but an expensive annuity.  Hence the reason I prefer a long duration term life insurance policy.  It should be easier to get coverage while you're still on active duty!!!

[trailertraveler]

10 hours ago, Gina3 said:

...I'm not sure how to get to the information about the boot camp or driving school here.  I have to figure that one out...

Welcome to the Escapees Forum!!

Here is a link to the Escapees Boot Camp information. Here is a link to the RV Driving School webpage that shows locations. Not all of them provide training for trailers. Look for those that say they take all types of RVs or specifically towables. Here is another source of training that appears to be located in California. Also check with the dealer where you bought the trailer. They may have a relationship with a driving school.

Again, Welcome to the Forum! 

[Kirk W]

13 hours ago, Gina3 said:

I sort of want to buy a house and I sort of would rather try to save money for my little one to buy a house with when he is older.  I was told buying land is best.  Maybe I should do that just to have an address while we travel around and try to figure out where we want to live.

 

11 hours ago, Gina3 said:

I start searching campgrounds, then get sidetracked with looking for affordable mountain cities with good schools, then start looking at campground jobs, then forums, then look at campgrounds in FL....I am just all over the place.  I did absolutely nothing but sit and Google today. 

 

11 hours ago, Gina3 said:

I am scared!  I know I have to be positive and I am grateful we will have an income. .................

I may just have to hang out here but I certainly do not want to get stuck here in CA.

 

I think that you need to slow down, calm down and suggest that you ask about seeing an Army counselor to help you in making the decisions that you must make. It is impossible for us to give you useful advice until you make some choices that only you can make.  It seems to me that you are allowing your fears to control you and to stand in your way. You can do this and you must do so for the good of your son and for yourself. As difficult as it may be, you need to choose a direction to go, stop questioning the choice and start moving forward in that direction with no looking back and no more "but what if" thinking. Life is a series of choices and none of us can ever know what might have been if we had gone a different direction at a fork in the road of life, and it really doesn't matter. What matters is that until we choose a direction, life just happens to us with no control at all. Your son needs direction in his life and you do also. It seems to me that you have already chosen to live in an RV, so the next question is to choose how and where you will do this. If you wish to travel the country, start making plans today for how you will manage that. If you fear driving while towing the RV, then find a driving school to help you learn to drive a tow truck first. If you can't manage that, you may consider the purchase of one of the smaller, motorized RVs so that you will not have towing issues, but it seems to be too late for that choice. You may want to talk with your RV dealer about that possibility if you have not yet occupied your RV, but you must make a choice now and then move forward with that choice. 

Make only one choice at a time, post here what that choice has been and then we will be able to assist you with what choice should come next. The problem becomes far less formidable if you break things down and attack only one choice at a time, and once that choice has been made, move forward, never looking back. 

[Second Chance]

13 hours ago, phillyg said:

If your military home of record is FL, I recommend keeping it for tax purposes.  Get a FL drivers license and title and register your vehicles there.  Living in military CGs is iffy. AEach installation makes the rules, and "homesteaders" are frowned upon as military CGs are not intended for full-time living. Take a look at militarycampgrounds.com for basic info.

That's:

http://www.militarycampgrounds.us/

Rob

[rpsinc]

15 hours ago, Gina3 said:

I'm wondering if I can live in military campgrounds and put my son in school until I figure out where we want to be.  Maybe that's what I will do.

I have no personal experience but as a long time RVer, I have met many retired vets that are now full time RVers that use the military bases with RV accomodations as their #1 priority for lodging.  They feel safer there with the connection to the base and its benefits and the cost to stay is much lower than private RV parks.

On another note, keep coming to this site.  You will find a wealth of knowledge and help.  We all were at some time in a similar situation with our RVs as you are.  Ask ANY question you want, either on the forum or by PM.  You will get the help you need.  Not all the help may benefit you, but information is power, and so to be powerful we must aquire information that leads to knowledge, and that helps us to be able to deal with what life throws at us.

As to schools, I have 3 grown children and I know that despite what quality of school I put them into, the quality of their education was mostly their doing.  If they applied themselves, and I stayed connected to what they were being taught, they did well.  When they goofed off or didnt try their best, no matter how good that school was, they didnt get the most out of it that they could.  I now have an 18YO granddaugther that has applied this(mostly from her single Mom), and she just gradutated from a Tech school as an auto mechanic, and with high scores and good effort, she has been accepted into a manufacturers program, where they pay for their specific schooling for the whole curriculum because of her results.  And she is a female in a male dominated profession.  

Dont be too scared, be cautious, but opportunity abounds around you.  Be confident that you can grab a piece of it too. And your son can be taught to do likewise.

Enjoy your journey.

[Second Chance]

1 hour ago, rpsinc said:

I have no personal experience but as a long time RVer, I have met many retired vets that are now full time RVers that use the military bases with RV accomodations as their #1 priority for lodging.  They feel safer there with the connection to the base and its benefits and the cost to stay is much lower than private RV parks.

As full-timers and retired Army, we have lots of experience with military famcamps and RV parks coast-to-coast and border-to-border. We stay in the one nearest our grandchildren for up to six weeks at a time (the stay limit at that facility). While they are great places to stay, we have yet to encounter a military facility that didn't have some sort of stay limit - be it 30 days or 180 days. These facilities are not intended for permanent living and, while there are some local exceptions made for active duty personnel, homesteading is not permitted. I just want you to be realistic about this option and not count on military campgrounds for long-term or permanent residence. On the other hand, if you end up home-schooling and moving around a bit, they are terrific places to use for the length(s) of time you are allowed to stay there.

Rob

[sandsys]

The main thing I think you need to realize is that nothing is permanent. You can pick a mail forwarding service to get you started but nothing says you can't change it later. You can pick a park in which to test the waters but nothing says you can't change it later. You can't choose perfect without knowledge you have yet to gain; don't let perfection be the block to having the good.

Based on what I have read here today, I would suggest signing up for the Escapee's mail service in Livingston, Texas, and looking for an initial campground in the Garland School District that Kirk recommended. You don't have to get your mail where you live. Your mail address becomes the equivalent of your permanent home address which can easily be different from where you actually live. Doing those two things will get you started then you can determine what's best for you two from there.

I know it is scary but it is so worth doing given the love of travel both you and your son seem to have.

Linda Sand

[ms60ocb]

Remember the saying "Its bad luck if a Black Cat crosses your Path."

Your is path is behind you and your Route or future is ahead. Don't be continuously looking back for the Cat, Look forward where you headed and don't be afraid to be cautious, your future depends on it. 

You will find a lot helpful people in a campground and won't cost a dime for their 2 cents worth.

Another hint on driving, become a little aware of what some the trucker laws maybe. What is a legal turn, Required lighting and such. Know the height of your vehicle to help prevent pulling into a spot that may require you to back out. Know your mirror blind spots and add a mirror if needed to give the quick advantage and don't look for the Black Cat.

Clay

DRV MS Fifth Wheel and Freightliner Sport Chassis  58 foot long connected

[Gina3]

Hi.....Thank you all so so much!

I will check out the helpful links asap!  I will also check into the school and Tx.  I really feel good and that I asked my questions at the right place.  I feel so happy to have met you all here!!! 

I have checked into life insurance and wondered if my rates were a good price.  I checked with USAA and now have to check with AIG as I heard they are good. State Farm was a bit expensive but they are good.

I am getting dental work now.  Getting my son to the docs and dentist also before retiring.  I have been through transition.  I just need to get my resume stuff all done then will be good on that. 

I was told Standard is better than Prime for us because of us moving around but maybe Prime will work.

I am excited and nervous.  I do also feel safer in the famcamps but of course I realize there are limits on length of stays. 

I really appreciate you all!!

Vr

Gina