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Old 10-13-2004, 03:26 AM   #1
jsrang
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What State is best to register in, if full time?

We recenyly sold everything in Michigan including house and are now full timing it. It iw wonderful! We are temporarily in FL for the next few months, but are not sure for how long. The question is, how do we determine which state to register our Driver License and Vehicle Registration and how do we go about doing it, if we own no land in any of the 50 states? We will probably be less then 6 months in 1 state in any given year. There is probably a club or association out there who has done this and already addressed the "opportunity" (A friend mentioned "The Nomad Club" or similar but knew nothing about it). We will need to do something fairly soon as our Drivers Licenses will be expiring with no option to renew by mail(Michigan). Also how do we address tax issues with no "home state". Thanks in advance
 
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Old 10-13-2004, 03:40 AM   #2
DHenry
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Good questions. I can not answer them but someone will be by soon and give you the answers. I am also interested in the answer so I will be checking back in now and then.
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Old 10-13-2004, 04:04 AM   #3
Gene Chaltry
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I just did this last week. You have to spend one night in South Dakota. I drove to Sioux Falls and got my mail service at Alternative Resources. (alternativeresources.net) Then went to the county court house and got my drivers license and truck license. You can renew through the mail. Hope this helps.
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Old 10-13-2004, 05:43 AM   #4
jsrang
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Thanks. Will check into registering in SDakota
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Old 10-13-2004, 06:07 PM   #5
Northstar
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If you don't have a permament home. South Dakota is a good place for what you need. Happyrving....
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Old 10-16-2004, 07:11 AM   #6
BigBlue
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We're planning on using South Dakota also when we go full-timing (soon as the house sells). However there are also services available in Texas (Escapees club) and Florida (don't know the service). You can find a lot of information by searching on the web.
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Old 10-16-2004, 12:55 PM   #7
sreigle
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Jim and Marilyn, our situation is very similar to yours and we did as Gene did. We drove to Sioux Falls, SD, to Alternative Resources (who does our mail forwarding). They told us all we needed and sent us to the courthouse. We arranged for mail delivery, changed our insurance (our company did not sell in SD), got drivers licenses and registered our vehicles and were on our way out of town in about 3 hours. We did stay overnight the night before.

The advantage is SD has no state income tax, no property tax on vehicles or RV, no sales tax on vehicle/RV purchases although you do pay a 3% excise tax on the difference when you trade vehicles/rv. We traded trucks while in Kansas and handled registration and the excise tax by mail. A call to the County Treasurer told me where to download the forms on the internet (or they'll mail them). Then the County Treasurer called me to correct my error on the forms!

We can handle vehicle registration by mail as well as renewing drivers licenses. You have to go to SD to get the initial drivers license although Alternative Resources can help you avoid that if necessary.

Florida and Texas (maybe others) have similar structures but we chose SD because it was just a 350 mile drive from our then-home in Topeka, KS. We're very satisfied after 20 months of SD residence.

You do have to go to an RV Park in SD to register to vote. We did that and arranged for the park to forward our voter registrations when received. While in SD we also filled out for an absentee ballot. We've received those and mailed them in last week.

This whole process sounds a whole lot more daunting than it is. Good luck. Hope you enjoy your travels as much as we do.
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Old 10-17-2004, 04:54 AM   #8
Gene Chaltry
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When we were there on the 4th, we also registered to vote. It's right across the hall from registering the truck. They asked where we stayed the night and we told them Best Western. They said we could use that address and we voted absentee.
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Old 10-17-2004, 06:22 AM   #9
Montana_70
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Jim and Marilyn,

I would do a search on this topic on escapees.com. This is THE forum for full timers. There is a ton of information and opinions on this topic on their forum. Many chose Texas or Florida for various reasons, but mainly the mild winters. When I looked in to this issue a couple of years ago, I decided that with the states most often mentioned, that cost generally came out about the same. One state may not have a sales tax, but charges more for licensing and such.

If it were me, I would choose an cost effective state, but also one that I knew I would be spending some time in. I have heard that FL has some excellent mail services as well.

Good luck and check out escapees.

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Old 10-17-2004, 07:43 AM   #10
Parrothead
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I thought Nevada had similar services. Does anyone know? California is soooo expensive, we will be looking for another "home state" in a couple of years if we sell the stick house.
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Old 10-17-2004, 10:27 AM   #11
sreigle
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Another point to consider -- whether you have to return for any vehicle inspections. There are no inspections of any kind in South Dakota, whether safety, smog, or anything else. The only reason you'd have to go there after the initial setup is to register to vote. But Texas and Florida are also good choices. I hear FL has an intangibles tax that might apply to some and Texas has vehicle (truck and RV) inspections annually. Is that correct?
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Old 10-17-2004, 03:02 PM   #12
Montana_70
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Steve,

FL does have an "intangibles tax" with a built in loop hole to avoid the tax. It's called a "Flite trust", I think. There is a lot of info on this on the web if you google Florida intangibles tax. The gist of it is you put this trust in someone else's name outside the state of FL. There are no vehicle inspections in FL. (currently)
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Old 10-18-2004, 12:39 PM   #13
DrivesBGM
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As retirees, I assume that some of you have company sponsored Medical and/or Dental Insurance and perhaps Prescription Drug Coverage. With my insurance, my coverage options and co-pays are determined by my mailing address. Do any of you find yourself in this position and what do you do about it?

Thanks,
Craig
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Old 10-18-2004, 01:02 PM   #14
Glenn and Lorraine
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For us it was a no brainer. . Lorraine's parents, niece and soon her sister all live in central Florida. We also save in the mail forwarding service. When we are not in the area, Lorraine's niece picks up our mail at out PO Box. If there is anything important she will immediately forward it to us. Otherwise when we are on the road we get the mail forwarded to us about 3 times a year and NO junk mail.
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Old 10-19-2004, 05:04 PM   #15
sreigle
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Quote:
quote:Originally posted by DrivesBGM

As retirees, I assume that some of you have company sponsored Medical and/or Dental Insurance and perhaps Prescription Drug Coverage. With my insurance, my coverage options and co-pays are determined by my mailing address. Do any of you find yourself in this position and what do you do about it?

Thanks,
Craig
Craig, do you know anyone who would let you use their address for the insurance purposes? You could still have a mail forwarding service elsewhere for everything else.

I'm guessing your coverage is a PPO or HMO where you have low or no deductibles and copay if you're in the service area and higher deducts and copays outside the area and have to go to a medical provider outside the network? I had the same situation but we also had an option for 'traditional' coverage that gives us the same deducts/copays at any place in the country so long as the provider participates with Blue Cross/Blue Shield in their state.

I retired from Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas so carry that insurance. We arrange annual checkups in Kansas when we're back in the area. We get prescriptions renewed same way. When Vicki needed an antibiotic she called the Doctor's office. After listening and asking questions they called in a prescription to the Walmart where we were located at the time. We get Rx refills at any pharmacy participating with Blue Shield. We usually use Walmart and they just transfer the Rx. Any pharmacy can do the transfer, not just Walmart.
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Old 10-22-2004, 01:52 AM   #16
DrivesBGM
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Steve. Thanks for your post!

Yes a separate address is certainly the way to go for medical purposes! Course if you didn't have a family member of friend willing to help you out with this, I don't know what you'd do!

Will a pharmacy accept a prescription from a doctor licensed and practicing in another state?

Craig
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Old 10-22-2004, 02:04 AM   #17
Montana_31
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Will a pharmacy accept a prescription from a doctor licensed and practicing in another state?

Yes, we have had no problems with it. We have had prescriptions filled in Pa., Kansas, and Florida when the original was from Maryland.
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Old 10-22-2004, 02:14 AM   #18
sreigle
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We've had no problems with it either. We've given the pharmacy the paper prescription written in Kansas even though we were somewhere else and it has always been honored. And getting the Rx transferred from one location to another is no problem. We've had them transferred from a Walmart to a Walgreen's and back, etc. I just have to remember to make sure to ask if they participate in Blue Shield so I don't get stuck with paying more than my normal deductible.

Re-reading my earlier post, if your insurance has a non-hmo/ppo option, like maybe 'traditional' insurance where you go to any hospital or doctor anywhere in the country and it costs you the same as going to one in the local area, that might be a better way to go even though the copays and deducts might be a bit higher. Reason is sometimes going out of area when you have hmo or ppo coverage can be rather costly in copays and deducts. It all depends on the structure of the insurance options. Your employer's insurance folks should be able to help with this. If not them, then the retiree folks in HR.

Good luck with it. Health insurance can be a very major expense for retirees. We're very fortunate we get exactly the same coverage options as fulltime active employees and at the same costs. Part of my retirement package.
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