Youve Got Mail

The speaker discusses the challenges of receiving mail as a nomad without a permanent address. They explain how they use a mailing service in Washington State that provides a real address, allowing them to receive official documents and credit cards. They also highlight the advantage of avoiding state taxes by using an address in a tax-free state. Additionally, they mention the convenience of obtaining a driver's license in Washington without needing a utility bill. The speaker mentions an alternative method for receiving shipments in outlying areas through a service that provides a US shipping address in Miami. However, they caution about the potential delays and costs associated with customs. Overall, the speaker emphasizes that these mailing services are essential for nomadic travelers to receive necessary items. You've got mail. Every day you get a mailbox full of deliveries, advertisements, letters, small packages, lots of junk mail that gets tossed in the circular file. And don't forget the package delivery is too big to fit in the mailbox. You come home to find a box on your porch that you ordered online. But as a nomad with no base, this has not been a part of my life for over ten years. I get no junk mail, no ads, no packages. I don't order things online because where will they be delivered? So wait, though. There are some things that do have to be delivered to me, like a renewed credit card or tax documents. Well, without a base address, how does that work? This is a question I've been asked a lot, and here's how I deal with it. I do have an official mailing address. As far as the government and the tax people and the credit card company knows, I live in Seattle, Washington. That's where my mail goes. But I have never lived in Seattle. Well, then how do I get my mail? I get it through a mailing service. But mailing services are not all created equal. To have an official address, I need a street address, not a P.O. box. Credit card companies will not deliver to a P.O. box. Official forms want a street address, not a P.O. box. So the mailing service needs to be one that provides a real address. After extensive research, I found my perfect service in Washington State. It's perfect because it does provide an actual address. But it also gives me an address in a state that does not collect annual state taxes. So I only pay federal taxes on my retirement income. Big plus. And one more advantage is related to my driver's license. I wanted my driver's license to reflect the same address. Most states require proof of address with a utility bill or a contract in order to issue a new driver's license. Of course, I don't have that. Aha! The state of Washington does not require a utility bill for proof of address to get a driver's license. They require only voter registration. Voter registration is automatically provided when filing for a USPS, U.S. Postal Service, change of address. Bingo! I narrowed it down to one perfect service for me. I receive an email from the service with a photo of the envelope and a choice to scan and open or throw away. If an item that I choose to scan is a document, like a tax document, I can simply download it and I'm all set. I don't even have to have it forwarded. I just download it to my computer and I'm done. If it's something physical, like a credit card, I give the service my current location and they send it to me. Simple as that. There is a way to get shipments to outlying areas, like islands, for you online shopping addicts. Sometimes a U.S. company will not ship to islands, so you need to connect with a service that gives you a U.S. shipping address, typically in Miami. So the item you order is sent to that address in Miami and then forwarded to your island address, wherever you are. However, there are disadvantages to this. You pay a monthly fee to that service, whether you use it or not. And the item may sit in that Miami warehouse for a bit before it gets shipped to you. And it will sit in customs at the port of delivery for who knows how long. This is not an order today, arrive tomorrow situation like Amazon. It can take weeks and it can be costly at customs. So for me, the best option is the U.S. mailing address service because I can have something like a credit card sent directly to me from there. And because I don't do online ordering, so I don't have that issue. Again, if you want to online order, then you can use one of these U.S. mailing addresses that sends out from Miami. In either case, if you are a nomad traveler with no base, these are lifesavers for getting you the things you need.