One step in our transition to full-time RV living was to figure out what our “permanent” address would be. I looked for options that would let us remain Missouri residents, but the best solution I could find was to rent a box at a UPS Store. That type of address would be fine for receiving mail, but government and financial institutions don’t consistently accept it for proof of residency. During the years I’ve been planning/dreaming this move, I learned that three states best serve full-time travelers to maintain domicile - a fixed address that can be used for for legal purposes like voting and paying taxes. Florida, Texas, and South Dakota are the states with the best-established processes and businesses to support Americans who have no fixed residence, whether they are living abroad or just traveling within the U.S. like us.
There are advantages and disadvantages to establishing domicile in each of those three states, as well as different requirements. For example, families with school-aged children need to consider home-schooling curriculum and reporting requirements. One common advantage for all three, though, is the absence of a state income tax. Most people think that this is the reason people choose one of these states - and maybe it is for some. We have learned that the states do receive tax revenue in other ways - just not necessarily based on income. To me, the net tax advantage wouldn’t alone justify the move.
For us, the choice was more about which of the three states we were most connected with and would be most likely to settle in once we decide to re-establish a fixed residence. We are likely to visit South Dakota more often than Florida or Texas since we have immediate family in and near the state. Both of our kids have expressed interest in living in the West or Northwest U.S. eventually as well. With the decision made, we headed to Sioux Falls in April to become South Dakotans.
The requirements to become residents of South Dakota are very simple:
Provide proof that we stayed at least one night in the state recently. A receipt from a hotel or campground will work.
Provide two pieces of mail showing that you received it at a South Dakota address - OR - provide a letter from a commercial mail receiving agency (CMRA) saying you have established a private mailbox (PMB) to receive mail.
I had reviewed information for several mail-forwarding businesses that provide services in South Dakota, and decided on DakotaPost because they seemed to have a long history with a good reputation, and because they are based in Sioux Falls, on the Eastern side of the state, with a location where we could even drop in and pick up our mail when we were in the area. When we got to Sioux Falls on a Monday afternoon, we stopped by the DakotaPost office, signed up for their mail forwarding service, and got our new South Dakota mailing address. Any mail we get now goes to our North Potsdam Avenue address in Sioux Falls. We just log into the DakotaPost portal and have them package up and send our mail to wherever we are or shred the stuff we don’t need.
After getting our new address, we stayed at a nearby hotel overnight. When checking out the following morning, we had them print two copies of our receipt - one in each of our names. We took the receipts and our verification letter from DakotaPost to the nearest driver licensing office shortly after they opened, and after a short wait we became South Dakotans! We did hit one snag when their computer system had a problem verifying Cindy’s passport number. She got a temporary license and then made the drive back up to Sioux Falls the following week with a certified copy of her birth certificate and our marriage license that they could use for identification.
With our new IDs in hand, we headed to the Minnehaha County Treasurer’s office, where we re-titled our truck and camper in our new home state. The clerk set the camper application aside to be handled last because trailers have extra requirements. When he got to the trailer, he explained that we would need to show proof of the dry weight in order to title it. I think he assumed he’d be sending us away to get that and bring it back. When I told him I had a photo of the VIN sticker, showing all the weights, he was so excited! It’s the little things, I guess. He had me email the photo to him to be included with the paperwork. We walked out with our new SD license plates and headed back to Missouri.
So, now when people ask us “Where ya from?”, I mumble and stammer, trying to explain in a few words how we spent the past 23 years in the Kansas City area but we are technically South Dakota residents now (my brain doesn’t form non-specific answers well). Cindy, depending on the situation, usually jumps in with “South Dakota” or “Kansas City” to keep it simple and let folks get on with their day.