Mail services - RV-Dreams Community Forum

hawhawmomma · RV-Dreams Community Member

Mail services

bjoyce · RV-Dreams Family Member

www.escapees.com/ is the place to go for Texas mail forwarding. They have worked their way through the court system to make sure you get a valid mail and street address.

Edit: Here is the direct link to the mail service - http://www.escapees.com/MailService/Default.aspx .

-- Edited by bjoyce on Tuesday 14th of January 2014 10:37:57 AM

hawhawmomma · RV-Dreams Community Member

Thank you.

Escapees is soooo expensive. Joining, Mailbox services, it will cost over two hundred annually for the one service, ouch! Is that what all services cost to have a legal residence?

Would UPS or Mailbox work? for what I am looking for?

It's horrible to be so cheap

Technomadia · RV-Dreams Family Member

The cost of Escapees is on par with other similar services across the country. Yes, you can utilize some UPS Stores for this, but talk with the manager of the location to see if they really understand your mobile lifestyle and needs.

There are lots of advantages of going with a service that is dedicated to us RVers for domicile & mail services. Escapees in particular has done a lot of legal legwork to ensure that their address will be accepted for vehicle registrations, bank accounts, driver's licenses and more. And they have also worked with local authorities to get their members allowances for jury duty service. These are things that a mailbox service alone can't do, as it's not their mission.

Here's our article on domicile issues to be aware of, that might help put it in context (as well as provide links to the other similar services around the country): www.technomadia.com/domicile

- Cherie

bjoyce · RV-Dreams Family Member

We had a UPS store mailbox for a while and learned the hard way they were not a good place for mail forwarding. We were lucky we only had to go 60 miles out of our way to get our mail the first screw up, they sent it to our previous location. Turns out it was "hard" to change the forwarding address in their computer, so the manager did it herself. The manager was out, so they wrote it on a piece of paper for her to update the address and in the mean time, they forwarded our mail to the previous address. After that, if we did not talk to the manager directly, we did not have our mail forwarded. Also, between box rental and handling fees, the price added up, it was not that cheap. On top of that, the address was obviously a PMB and would not pass the legal test for a resident address.

LibertyLinda · RV-Dreams Family Member

Hi Cherie,

What is the Florida registration & inspection requirements?

Technomadia · RV-Dreams Family Member

Florida has no inspections, aside from needing physical verification of your VIN #.

We fully documented our 'move' to Florida from South Dakota this time last year with all of the details, costs and paperwork we went through:
www.technomadia.com/florida

- Cherie

LibertyLinda · RV-Dreams Family Member

Thanks Cherie, that is good information.

Selah · RV-Dreams Family Member

The big three, Fl, SD, TX all have excellent mail service with the ability to scan the envelopes so you can see daily what has arrived. They will also open and scan the contents to you email for a small fee.
We use Saint Brendan's Isle mail service out of Green Cove Springs, Florida for our service. They, like the other major players, have all the forms and instructions on line for changing your domicile, drivers license, voter regerstration, etc.

hawhawmomma · RV-Dreams Community Member

Thank you all,

The problem has been solved for now. I found a friend to help me out. I will be using a service once the RV is purchased, I am heading out to CA to earn money to make the dream come true. I hope to be on the road in the next couple of years or less.

Helen

Barbaraok · RV-Dreams Family Member

Remember Escapees isn't just a mail forwarding company. They also have RV parks, access to staying in co-op parks, host a yearly rally, publish a great magazine, etc.

Barb

LibertyLinda · RV-Dreams Family Member

Well, we have decided to go to South Dakota. The biggest reason: my RN license, SD is the easiest to get endorsement and they are a compact state. When we know we won't need my nursing job, we can head to Texas- which will be many years from now. Everyone's help is appreciated, thank you.

bjoyce · RV-Dreams Family Member

SD is OK unless you need to get individual health insurance. The available ACA insurance choices require 6 to 9 months of residency a year.

Lucky Mike · RV-Dreams Family Member

I think when it comes right down to it ....its not going to matter what state you choose....your going to have to go there for your medical several times a year

Barbaraok · RV-Dreams Family Member

Lucky Mike wrote:
I think when it comes right down to it ....its not going to matter what state you choose....your going to have to go there for your medical several times a year

Why? We've been Fulltiming for 8 years. We see our internistI once a year, for pokes and prods, get prescriptions written for 90 days at a time with 4 refills because we use a mail order pharmacy. Our physician writes orders for any lab work he wants done during the year, we have it done at a lab wherever we are, he'll adjust meds if necessary and fax in a new Rx. If one of us needs immediate attention we use an urgent care facility.

Barb

Lucky Mike · RV-Dreams Family Member

Why would depend on your age........some have to carry private insurance....and the ACA has changed the way it is doled out now

Russ Ranger · RV-Dreams Family Member

I'm not sure if anyone can say with certainty where the best place to have as our residence/mailing address/ mailing service for the future. The situation in South Dakota has changed in the past few months.

All of us under 65 are in a really shaky boat for the next few years. Insurance rules are going to change.

I need to be really careful in saying that I don't say this with any political agenda or meaning. I am just saying that none of us under 65 knows what insurance or medical care will look like in the next few years. I wish I knew, but I don't. Medical and vehicle insurance availability and costs will change.

What I have experienced and known in the past is changing.

I have gambled the farm and hope it all works out. I had two choices: stay at home in status quo or jump over the edge and go RV'ing. By the way I kept our residency in Washington state, that could need to change tomorrow.