Mailing Service Recommendation in Tennessee?

daveward · October 17, 2017

I will be going fulltime in a couple months. I just found this website and forum and I'm surely going to be swimming in all the good and helpful info. As usual I have more questions than answers at this moment...several dealing with the fulltime with no permanent address situation. I am aware of mailing services and so that's the subject of my first question...is anyone using a Tennessee service and are you satisfied? The reason for the question is that our plan is to RV fulltime for at least two years and then settle down again in TN. Yes...I have no idea what the future will bring but that's the plan as of this moment. Thanks!!! Dave

redcrzr · October 17, 2017

Most people on here are using mail service and domicile out of South Dakota, Florida or Texas. That is because of the ease of residency change and tax issues. Escapee's operates a mail service that would allow you to use any of the 3 for your domicile and still have Escapee's handle your mail.

We chose to go with South Dakota as our domicile for various reasons and have been helped along the way by Dakota Post located in Sioux Falls, SD. Has been a very satisfying experience for almost 2 years.

You could easily use any of these 3 as domicile & "change your mind" in 2 years & settle in Tennessee.

I'm not a lawyer so don't shoot the messenger.

Todd

daveward · October 17, 2017

redcrzr....no shooting messengers here...thanks for the thoughtful answer. I certainly understand the idea of changing residence states at a later date. In your South Dakota example, did you go there to do things like licenses and car registrations...and did you find the pricing and availability of health insurance/auto insurance acceptable?

And could you explain further how: "Escapee's operates a mail service that would allow you to use any of the 3 for your domicile and still have Escapee's handle your mail." Are you saying they have operations/addresses in all three states?

Thanks!

Zulu · October 18, 2017

7 hours ago, daveward said:

In your South Dakota example, did you go there to do things like licenses and car registrations...and did you find the pricing and availability of health insurance/auto insurance acceptable?

If you're under 65 and have to purchase your own health insurance, then SD and TX are not the places to go because there are no ACA health plans in those states with nationwide PPO plans -- the type of health plans RVers want because of their state-to-state "portability".

If you're sticking with TN, I think there are only a few counties that have nationwide PPO plans. You can check here (www.healthsherpa.com).

Finally, I believe you would be better served with a TN-based mail forwarding service than using Escapees. There are probably plenty of Mom & Pop corner mail forwarding services in TN.

SWharton · October 18, 2017

Are you looking for a mail forwarding service to use the address on your DL or will you have a good TN address on your DL and are just looking for a way to forward your mail? For many years we used mail forwarding as a convenience but maintained an address in our home state.

daveward · October 19, 2017

SWharton...I guess the answer to your question revolves around the fact that when we sell in CA we are leaving the state and won't have a residence for up to 2 years as we Fulltime it and look for property for THE dream house we always wanted. My issue, if I can call it that is I don't want to burden my daughter asking her to be a mail forwarder and using her address as a residence whenever asked, since I don't plan on ever moving to her state. Please respond as I think you're on to something helpful.

Zulu...extremely helpful info!!! Luckily...LOL...by the time we go full time we'll both be 65+ and no longer needing to worry about Obamacare. Thanks again for your insight!

SWharton · October 19, 2017

You have 2 problems as I see it. #1 is having someplace to have your mail sent to with a street address and have that mail then forwarded to you whenever you ask. That is what a mail forwarding service does. Many people uses Escapees, as we do. You can have a mail forwarding service wherever you want, the service has no relationship to your domicile.

You will need to determine where you want your domicile to be. Many of us use TX as our domicile. You might want to email one of the lawyers that specialize in domicile issues. Escapees has several that belong to Escapees and are very good. I would talk too one of them as they encounter this type of situation on a regular basis.

I will PM you the email address.

redcrzr · October 19, 2017

Dave

We did go to Sioux Falls when we made the switch. South Dakota requires you to spend at least one night in the state to qualify as a resident. Dakota Post explains all of this quite clearly, if not on their web site, they are very timely with email or phone inquiries.

As far as Escapees mail service I believe they run all of the mail through the main office in Texas however they have addresses in all three, TX FL SD that allows for domicile in either. Pretty sure that is clearly stated on their home page or through email/telephone, as well.

If you follow this forum at all you should be aware of a gentleman by the name of Kirk. He is a moderator on here and well versed in domicile issues and the Escapees in general. If he doesn't chime in on this thread look for him on other subjects & send him a PM if needed.

Todd

Kirk W · October 19, 2017

Let me suggest that you read this article from Escapees Magazine about domicile and related issues before you make your choices. It is important to understand what that means and also that you do not have to use your domicile for your mail service, so long as you have an address for legal issues like vehicle registration and insurance.