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smack2020. You guys sound just like us. We got an older used MH, fixed it up so it's pretty nice. We pull an 06 Rubi for a toad, we have two dogs, and both of us work for the State of Missouri. Lots of simularities. We will be hitting the road January 1, 2014, so we will be leading you guys by just a bit. Enjoy you travels. Sounds like you got a good working plan. KEEP IT UP us 14'ers.

Lisa and Greg Kenley

Topsee Turvee the Terror Terrier

Oreo the O.C.D. Border Collie

1994 HR Navigator 38' DP, Restored

2006 Jeep Wrangler Rubi, Pushin

Hello from Swamp East Missouri, USA

And, while with silent lifting mind I've trod

The high untrespassed sanctity of space,

Put out my hand, and touched the face of God.

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I am pretty sure me and wife will be class of 2014. It will probably be December of 14, late December. I am 48 and she is 46. We both work for the formerly great state of California. We plan to retire in December of 2014 and hit the road on New Years eve 2014. We have a 2007, 32' Fleetwood Bounder Class A that we bought in December of 2006. We have a 2007 Jeep Rubicon we use to pull behind the Moho. We like Jeeping and wife loves photography. We have 6 grandkids, so we will have to come back to Bakersfield on a regular basis. We would like to keep the house and rent it out, maybe to one of our 4 kids. But if we can't afford to rent it, we will sell. We are buckling down for the next 24 months and paying off all of our small nagging bills.

 

I am tired of the hustle and bustle of life, always in a hurry to go nowhere.

 

We plan on going to Lake Havasuu for a week in May and another week in June. We do a lot of local trips to the beach, mountains and desert. We love Death Valley, believe it or not, it is a neat place.

 

Scott

 

Welcome to the class of 2014. We are practically neighbors we live in Santa Clarita. I agree with you that the beach is a great place to go for a weekend trip. We go down to the Rincon Parkway just north of Ventura, especially this time of year much easier to get a spot. Hope there are no snags in your retirement plans.

Chris & Joni
The Beagles now 3 Daphne, Ace and Flash
looking
2016 Acura MDX

 

http://jnctravelogue.wordpress.com

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We are on track for 2014. Hard to wait until then but in the meantime we continue to get rid of stuff, try really hard to not buy anything new unless it will benefit going fulltime and pay off the debt. Our hope is to be able to leave fulltiming with only the debt of the class A (which we don't have yet - currently doing our trips in a 24ft TT).

 

For Christmas Diane made sweatshirt coats machine embroidered with a picture of a class a and the words "Fulltime in 2014" (even for the two little dogs :P ) and Michael got license plate frames that say "Diane & Michael Fulltime in 2014". Anything to keep our "eye on the prize"!

 

In the meantime we are traveling when we can and our next big trip is in the summer with three weeks up the west coast ending in the Olympic National Forest. Looking forward to that.

 

It is nice to read this forum and know there are others on the same path :rolleyes: !

 

Diane

Diane and Michael
The "kids" Penny and Tatonka
Chevy Silverado pulling a 36ft Alpenlite 5th Wheel
Class of 2015

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Thanks, for the greetings everyone.

 

We are still on for 2014, I keep trying to talk my wife into going earlier. But the end of 14 is reasonably the best for us.

 

I took some stuff to the goodwill today. I am a mild hoarder, so getting rid of stuff is hard for me. I battle myself, Dont get rid of it, you'll need it someday, but you have not used it in so long that there is 2 inches of dust on it, I know but I might need it soon. SHUT UP and get rid of it won today. ;)

 

Off to Pismo beach in a couple weeks for a long weekend.

 

KYEOTP 2014,

 

Scott

Scott, Norma and dog Max

2013 Itasca Ellipse 42 QD

2014 Jeep Wrangler JKURX

Class of 2013

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Well, we accepted an offer! That's the good news, and what I'm trying to focus on. The not so good part of the news is that the offer is 5k less than we listed it for (ie. what we owed on the mortgage). So we will be paying for part of the mortgage payoff and the realtor commission out of pocket. So that's a little depressing. But at least the property will be gone, and it will take us about 10 months to make our savings back with the monthly condo expenses gone. One more step toward our goal!! ;)

 

I had to do the same thing when I quit the rat race to go to law school. It hurt to write that $5k check, but the relief of driving away from the deal was worth it. A year later, I didn't know the difference finance wise.

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My goal to start out is to think small. I have my heart set on a Toyota micro to start out with. The reason is that when I escape what is holding me here, I want to burn up some miles, writing and photographing. My goal is simple, I want to photograph and write a short history of every county courthouse in the US and pub a series of regional books. Whether I do it or not is immaterial, I want to . . .

 

And wouldn't ya know it, there is a little Toyota sitting in a field about an hour north of me with a ridiculous (and I mean ridiculous, as in three digits) price tag white-washed on the window. For the fun of it, I hiked out there expecting to see a reeking moldy hulk with a leaking sodden roof. What I saw was a perfectly watertight little camper with the headliner as bright and shiny as the day it rolled off the line. B)

 

Don't get me wrong, it would likely have to be completely reworked with new appliances, but it has the bullet-proof little Toyota motor and a simply silly price tag. So, there is room to invest and arrange the inside to fit my specs (I have the gear to run a portable t-shirt printing and button-making biz). I also have a handyman/mechanic who can fix anything - any time, any place, on time and under budget.

 

The catch? Whoever painted the phone number on the windshield left off the area code. There are about 4 possibilities in the area and none of them answer. <_< Next time I am up that way on business I am going to go into the two businesses that border the field and see if anyone knows anything about it (small town, everybody knows somebody's business!)

 

One of my jobs (I have two part-timers, an internet business and I freelance) is Tuesday and Thursday about an hour from home. My serious fantasy is to pack up the dog on Tuesday morning, go to work, and then head to one of the five local lakes, stay over Wednesday working on freelance, to the job on Thursday and then back to the barn to run the biz. Not possible now, but the thought of it keeps me smiling through all the drudgery.

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Make sure you get to drive it before any offer is made. Fill the tanks and find a hill and see if it will go up. While the Toyota engine is a good engine the rv can be under-powered condisering the weight of the rv. I don't believe that Toyota's have been used in many years because of the lack of power. Also keep in mind that the tanks (gray, black and fresh water) add weight when they are being used and also will be very small even for one person for any kind of extended boondocking. Water is about 8 1/4 pounds a gallon. You will find as time goes on 1. your engine will never be too powerful. 2. Your tanks will never be too big. 3. Sometimes it seems the drive is alway up hill.

 

Good luck.

Chris & Joni
The Beagles now 3 Daphne, Ace and Flash
looking
2016 Acura MDX

 

http://jnctravelogue.wordpress.com

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Today is my 27th anniversary. Not my wedding anniversary mind you, but my anniversary on the Job. The wife has been putting up with me a lot longer than 27 years. :lol:

 

Anyway it is a significant milestone because it makes me that much closer to retirement. The Navy refuses to let me maintain Active Duty status beyond thirty years. Some people can stay beyond thirty, but for a variety of reasons, my particular job has a limit of thirty years.

 

What that means is ...... In less than three years we will be fulltiming!!!

 

I got to change my signature line today :P I need to get my College kid to complete school (2 more years), become Debt free ( 9 more months), and put the finishing touches on my fulltiming fund (?)

 

In the meantime we will

 

"live like no one else, so later we can live like no one else."

 

I figure in about two years we can start accumulating all of our toys for fulltiming. In the meantime, we will be sitting here in the sidelines keeping our eye on the prize.

fbcover2.jpg

Fulltiming, Class of 2013

2001 Volvo VNL 610 with Smart Hauler Bed (FOOTLOOSE)

2012 Smart 4 Two (FANCY-FREE)

2004 Newmar Mountain Aire with Motorcycle Lift (LEADFOOT)

2013 Harley Davidson Road Glide Ultra (LIGHTFOOT)

"Submarines Forever"

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Today is my 27th anniversary. Not my wedding anniversary mind you, but my anniversary on the Job. The wife has been putting up with me a lot longer than 27 years. :lol:

 

Anyway it is a significant milestone because it makes me that much closer to retirement. The Navy refuses to let me maintain Active Duty status beyond thirty years. Some people can stay beyond thirty, but for a variety of reasons, my particular job has a limit of thirty years.

 

What that means is ...... In less than three years we will be fulltiming!!!

 

I got to change my signature line today ;) I need to get my College kid to complete school (2 more years), become Debt free ( 9 more months), and put the finishing touches on my fulltiming fund (?)

 

In the meantime we will

 

"live like no one else, so later we can live like no one else."

 

I figure in about two years we can start accumulating all of our toys for fulltiming. In the meantime, we will be sitting here in the sidelines keeping our eye on the prize.

 

Congratulations on your service to this great country. You know thirty years of putting your *ss on the line for this country it is time to let the younger generation take over. You have done your service to our country. Time to full time and enjoy life.

Chris & Joni
The Beagles now 3 Daphne, Ace and Flash
looking
2016 Acura MDX

 

http://jnctravelogue.wordpress.com

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The condo sale is moving along. The inspection turned up a bad heat pump, so we are replacing that for the sale. So that's the not so good news. On the positive front, we went to an RV show in Boston this past weekend. We are now thinking about buying a Heartland Landmark, maybe the San Antonio. As long as the condo is gone on schedule in May, we will start looking this time next year for the truck and fiver we want to buy. Then we will have a year and a half to enjoy the fiver for vacations and weekends before we hit the road in 2014. :blink:

Jessica and Harry

Fulltimers as of 12/12/12

2011 Chevy Silverado 3500HD

2011 Heartland Landmark Rushmore

www.rikerrvdays.blogspot.com

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We are also looking to 2014 as our target date...I can see my July 16, 2014 date as my last day of work. We areputt ing out the things we dont need from the house, we are moving into a smaller home in a retirement community and we just downsized our 38 ft travel trailer for a 28 foot toyhauler...we have our RV lot for sale, since our new community allows us to store an RV for $30 per month. We figure we will start off about 6 mos per year in our camper, and since our new home is a manufactured home, we hope to keep that as a home base. We are trying to pay off any debts and save as much cash as we can....its funny how excited we can get when we put it all together!

 

keep an eye on the prize..on the road to fullltiming in 2014 .. I am new to this RV-forum..so bear with me..our plan is to retire in 2014..buy a Class A diesel pusher and hit the road..well at least get out of the Vancouver area. We are holding on tight to our dream!!

 

 

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Welcome EBendana. Hopefully me and wifes small bills will be paid off by June of 2013, we are hitting them hard. Then we can spend the next 1.5 years saving, hopefully for a newer RV, maybe a diesel. And then hit the road late 2014.

 

Does anyone know how long we have to set up our Domicile once we leave our home state? I definately dont want to pay anymore California State Taxes after I retire.

Scott, Norma and dog Max

2013 Itasca Ellipse 42 QD

2014 Jeep Wrangler JKURX

Class of 2013

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Welcome EBendana. Hopefully me and wifes small bills will be paid off by June of 2013, we are hitting them hard. Then we can spend the next 1.5 years saving, hopefully for a newer RV, maybe a diesel. And then hit the road late 2014.

 

Does anyone know how long we have to set up our Domicile once we leave our home state? I definately dont want to pay anymore California State Taxes after I retire.

 

 

We are in the same boat. Wife will retire in 2014 and I told her the first thing we do is to hot foot it to wherever we decide to set up our domicile and get that taken care of before she gets her first retirement check then give the franchise tax board the old one finger wave. I think that you will have to file a return in California for as long as you are a resident. The year we retire I will have the taxes professionally done so I don't screw anything up and have it end up costing us more. I will also have the taxes done wherever we decide to domicile, just to reinforce the point with the state of California.

Chris & Joni
The Beagles now 3 Daphne, Ace and Flash
looking
2016 Acura MDX

 

http://jnctravelogue.wordpress.com

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Welcome EBendana. Hopefully me and wifes small bills will be paid off by June of 2013, we are hitting them hard. Then we can spend the next 1.5 years saving, hopefully for a newer RV, maybe a diesel. And then hit the road late 2014.

 

Does anyone know how long we have to set up our Domicile once we leave our home state? I definately dont want to pay anymore California State Taxes after I retire.

Smack2020, what dosbeagles is saying makes the most sense. You can do the domicile change at any point. The key is to make a clean and distinct break of all ties. For example, setting something up in South Dakota, while you owned a home in California, resided in that home, and held employment would not be a clean break. As soon as you cut all ties, then set up your domicile in your state of choice. Keep in mind I am no lawyer, and my advice is worth what you pay for it. I will see you on the road.

 

jim

fbcover2.jpg

Fulltiming, Class of 2013

2001 Volvo VNL 610 with Smart Hauler Bed (FOOTLOOSE)

2012 Smart 4 Two (FANCY-FREE)

2004 Newmar Mountain Aire with Motorcycle Lift (LEADFOOT)

2013 Harley Davidson Road Glide Ultra (LIGHTFOOT)

"Submarines Forever"

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Smack2020, what dosbeagles is saying makes the most sense. You can do the domicile change at any point. The key is to make a clean and distinct break of all ties. For example, setting something up in South Dakota, while you owned a home in California, resided in that home, and held employment would not be a clean break. As soon as you cut all ties, then set up your domicile in your state of choice. Keep in mind I am no lawyer, and my advice is worth what you pay for it. I will see you on the road.

 

jim

You can set up your mail forwarding company address several month before you plan to hit the road and start changing things over to it. That makes it easier to do the domicile change when the time comes. It's best not to do the domicile change at year end. Filing a partial year tax form in the state you're leaving helps make that clean break.

 

Linda Sand

SKP class of '08

Blog: http://sandcastle.sandsys.org/

Former Rigs: Liesure Travel van, Winnebago View 24H, Winnebago Journey 34Y, Sportsmobile Sprinter conversion van

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Thanks dosbeagles, Jim and Sansys for the info.

 

This is what Turbo Tax says:

State of Residency

Your state of residency, referred to as your principal place of residence, is determined by some or all of the following factors (no single factor makes you a resident). It is the state where you:

 

- Own or rent your main home where you spend most of your time

- Intend to return to if you work, travel or vacation elsewhere temporarily

- Maintain your driver's license

- Register to vote

- Maintain your primary bank account(s)

- Have strongest family ties

- Your children live and attend school

- Own or run your main business, especially if you live in that state

 

If you are a college student studying in another state, but still have a permanent address in your home state (such as your parents' house), then your home state is your State of Residency.

We are off to SKP Park Sierra in California this weekend. Call us crazy, we are going to the snow while others are running from it. My wife has always wanted to go to Yosemite in the winter, so we are going to go check it out. Got my SKP number yesterday and the RV spot only cost $16 a night for full hookups.

Scott

Scott, Norma and dog Max

2013 Itasca Ellipse 42 QD

2014 Jeep Wrangler JKURX

Class of 2013

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Does this mean you have to have your bank account in your domicile state?

 

We are in the same boat with wanting to get out of the California residency/taxes as soon as possible. We are planning on leaving the summer of 2014 so I guess filing a partial tax return in California for the first part of 2014 and then in the second 1/2 of the year in our new domicile state is the way to go? We will definitly go to a professional to have our taxes done to minimize messing up :P

 

And smack2020, Yosemite is absolutely beautiful in the winter! Enjoy!

 

Diane

Diane and Michael
The "kids" Penny and Tatonka
Chevy Silverado pulling a 36ft Alpenlite 5th Wheel
Class of 2015

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Does this mean you have to have your bank account in your domicile state?

No. The important part is "Your state of residency, referred to as your principal place of residence, is determined by some or all of the following factors."

 

We are domiciled in South Dakota with our driver's licenses, vehicle licenses, voter registrations, and taxes filed from there. We go there every year for at least a few days although I'm not sure we'd be required to but which fulfills the "intend to return to" part. Our bank is in Texas and our doctors are in Minnesota. I never plan to live through another Minnesota winter again. Our family is in Maine, Illinois, Arizona, and Idaho with very few still in Minnesota. We own no real estate anywhere. All our mail goes to South Dakota except the occasional mail order we have sent to where ever we are at the moment. It is declaring South Dakota to be our domicile thus arranging for our legal stuff be there that makes it our domicile. You only have to do a substantial number of the items on the list to qualify with intent being a big part of it.

 

Linda Sand

SKP Class of '08

Blog: http://sandcastle.sandsys.org/

Former Rigs: Liesure Travel van, Winnebago View 24H, Winnebago Journey 34Y, Sportsmobile Sprinter conversion van

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We are domiciled in South Dakota with our driver's licenses, vehicle licenses, voter registrations, and taxes filed from there.

 

Thanks - you're explanation really clarified some things for me. I've been reading all kinds of things on picking your domicile but letting myself get a little overwhelmed. You make it sound pretty simple actually :blink: .

 

By the way, if I may ask, what made you choose SD as opposed to Texas or somewere else? I know everyone has their own reasons, but I was just curious.

 

Diane

 

P.S. I'm kind of new at this forum typing thing - how do you get the quote to show in the blue box like you did quoting me? As you see when I do it it is not in a box?

Diane and Michael
The "kids" Penny and Tatonka
Chevy Silverado pulling a 36ft Alpenlite 5th Wheel
Class of 2015

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By the way, if I may ask, what made you choose SD as opposed to Texas or somewere else? I know everyone has their own reasons, but I was just curious.

 

P.S. I'm kind of new at this forum typing thing - how do you get the quote to show in the blue box like you did quoting me? As you see when I do it it is not in a box?

The trick with the quote box is to use the reply button then be very sure you do not delete the last quote marker when editing the post to which you are replying.

 

As to choosing South Dakota one reason was for us it was cheaper and easier as we could drive from Minneapolis, Minnesota, to Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and back a lot faster than we could to Livingston, Texas. :blink: I also like that South Dakota didn't make us take special driving license tests when we moved into a bigger rig. We did take lessons to learn how to handle the bigger rig but having to back to South Dakota in February when we upgraded would not have been pleasant.

 

Linda Sand

Blog: http://sandcastle.sandsys.org/

Former Rigs: Liesure Travel van, Winnebago View 24H, Winnebago Journey 34Y, Sportsmobile Sprinter conversion van

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The trick with the quote box is to use the reply button then be very sure you do not delete the last quote marker when editing the post to which you are replying.

 

THANK YOU!! :lol:

Diane and Michael
The "kids" Penny and Tatonka
Chevy Silverado pulling a 36ft Alpenlite 5th Wheel
Class of 2015

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The trick with the quote box is to use the reply button then be very sure you do not delete the last quote marker when editing the post to which you are replying.

 

 

Thank you. I always wanted to know how to do that too.

 

Vicky

Life is an adventure........live it large!

2004 Holiday Rambler Presidential

pulled by 2008 Dodge 3500 Diesel Dually

Skp # 104622

http://ivey-theendlessroad.blogspot.com/

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We had a great stay at Park Sierra. We tryed to go to Yosemite on Saturday but the road was closed. They finally got the road open late Saturday, so we went back on Sunday. Yosemited is awesome in the winter.

 

www.parksierra.net

Scott, Norma and dog Max

2013 Itasca Ellipse 42 QD

2014 Jeep Wrangler JKURX

Class of 2013

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