State Domicile Choices for Full Timers--why not WA?

[Doctor Harold]

Originally Posted by Kai in Seattle

I agree about climate as merely one of the many reasons to prefer one area to another. Washington and Oregon, while the average temperatures are mild, have some extremes in winter and summer both. Eastern Washington and Oregon have some large cities (not too large) but heat and cold, drought and wind are issues if you're used to something more clement. Western Oregon and Washington make a lot of jokes about not wearing out but rusting out for a reason. Our rainy seasons are long, gray, and cool-to-cold. If you are from England, I understand you know what our weather can be like. "The Great NorthWet" saying doesn't apply in the summers here, but it sure does over the winters.

We have volcanoes (some live if slightly dormant for now), tsunamis, earthquakes, terrible congestion in our big cities like Seattle (Bellevue, just east of Seattle, at one time was said to have the worst traffic in America).

So you see...we're pretty happy here without a big influx of more people. We're crappy! Stay out! There you go.


Kai
("kay" as in "straight or caisson)--Kathleen

I'll be forwarding this to the national masochist club...

[Ron F]

If you look around the web, you'll find various lists telling which are the best states for retirees. Each of these are based on various factors such as your source of retirement income, property, etc., but chances are your situation doesn't match the criteria that created these "ideal" lists. Everyone's situation is unique and you really need to create your own list based on your situation. For example, if you're a full-timer, living in your RV, what do you care about real property taxes on a "brick & mortar home. You should probably be more concerned with taxes on your RV. Is your income is tied to financial investments, annuities, etc., or social security and pensions? It makes a difference.


We've been full-timing for about 6 years and claim FL as our domicile. It works for us. We don't have real property and as seniors we enjoy a 50% discount to stay all winter in Florida's State Parks. YMMV


So, before you decide on a state, check the tax environment for all the states that you are considering to compare what is taxed and determine what your contribution will be to the states finances, based on YOUR lifestyle, etc..

[Gary Bob]

Rosak

You should check with the Washington State DMV and see what constitutes residency in the state. A mail forwarding service address may not be enough. If you have a boat in a Marina, you can produce some bills to show you live there, not as easy for an RV.

[thrifty bill]

Originally Posted by John in Santa Cruz

is it? huh. my retirement funds are all in 401k/sep-ira and will be taxable upon withdrawing. I just retired in December, and haven't touched my retirement funds yet as I've been living on my severance bonus and don't WANT any more income this year.

+100 the baby boomer generation is the first to see the transition away from traditional defined benefit retirement plans to 401ks and IRAs. The dirty little secret with these plans is that when you start taking money out of them, they are taxed as ordinary income. Roth IRAs came a little later and are the exception.

Those that took maximum advantage of 401ks and traditional IRAs also get introduced to RMDs, where money HAS to be taken out at a prescribed amount every year. Miss it and the penalty is huge.

Now income taxes are just a small piece of the where to retire puzzle. Ratings by firms like Kiplingers are based on average. So unless your situation fits into the averages, your rankings should be different.

[Glass House]

Why is it always about money? Don't folks have any aesthetic inclinations?

[k corbin]

It is very easy to become a WA state resident. Just rent a private mail box at one of the numerous mail forwarding address services in the coastal water areas. Registering to vote at that address is a good idea and go and get a WA state drivers license. But just remember that you will likely get put on the list for jury duty very quickly when you establish residency. They love newbies!

Here is more information on the subject from the WA state website.
https://dor.wa.gov/contact-us/washin...ncy-definition

Cost of medical insurance...it is in the top 1/3rd of the list of the most expensive states. But they do have low income supplementary medical insurance plans available.

[k corbin]

Originally Posted by Glass House

Why is it always about money? Don't folks have any aesthetic inclinations?

Of course it is just about money, the people who are doing this don't plan to actually live there

[thrifty bill]

Originally Posted by Glass House

Why is it always about money? Don't folks have any aesthetic inclinations?

1. It's not always about the money, but people full timing and on a tight budget do benefit on choosing a lower cost base.


2. It's not about aesthetics as people tend to not actually LIVE in that location. They pick a spot to have a mailbox or whatever, get a drivers license and license plates, then hit the road. The aesthetics come from the places they visit, not the state they pick for taxes.

3. It becomes solely a financial decision so of course it's all about money.


Myself I am not RVing full time. My state residency is based on where I live, and I chose that location for aesthetics. Tax wise, I would be on the other side of the TN/NC border (I'm about 20 miles from the border right now).

[Kai in Seattle]

Glass House:

Why is it always about money? Interesting question, it really is.

No aesthetic inclinations?

Some big, broad assumptions there. And as a big broad, I have a few thoughts about them.

Even if one is ultra-wealthy (and I'm not so sure any of us on FGRV are), money still matters. For example, I might choose to buy an island I can easily afford instead of the very prettiest island on earth, because it would cost too much of my disposable wealth. I want to be able to easily buy that 200-foot yacht, too, so I can get to my new island. AND a private chef. And fly the kids to the port so we can all go...I don't want to lose too many opportunities because I went for the priciest island. I have to weigh the "opportunity costs."

Aesthetics counts, too. I won't move to the ugliest island just because it's the cheapest, and I can then live on $20 a month. I'll part with a few more sheckels and get an island that is at least pretty enough.

I won't live in a house that doesn't please me, both financially AND aesthetically (or at least seems like one I could alter to suit aesthetically without exorbitant financial outlay).

I'll pay more for a puppy I fall in love with...but I won't pay so much I have to take out a loan to buy it. (That's one reason I don't own a French bulldog).

We bought our Amerigo for two reasons: 1. the basic configuration pleased us completely. Bed placement, windows, size, height, weight, storage, etc. 2. We could afford it. Then we spent more money making it suit us even better (including things we deemed necessary, like repairing all the holes in the fiberglass). But we were not going to empty our savings or take out a loan to buy a toy. (For us, Peanut is a toy.)

Is anything really entirely about money? I really don't think so. It's about value--what you GET for the money. And what you GET has to include "pleasing you" which would include aesthetics.

Thanks for the interesting topic!

BEST
"K"
Kai in Seattle

[Kai in Seattle]

k. corbin

thrifty bill

Excellent points. Spot on.

"K"

[cpaharley2008]

Originally Posted by thrifty bill

1. It's not always about the money, but people full timing and on a tight budget do benefit on choosing a lower cost base.


2. It's not about aesthetics as people tend to not actually LIVE in that location. They pick a spot to have a mailbox or whatever, get a drivers license and license plates, then hit the road. The aesthetics come from the places they visit, not the state they pick for taxes.

3. It becomes solely a financial decision so of course it's all about money.


Myself I am not RVing full time. My state residency is based on where I live, and I chose that location for aesthetics. Tax wise, I would be on the other side of the TN/NC border (I'm about 20 miles from the border right now).

You are not considering that they do not live where they pick because it is not as nice as else where and after awhile of living elsewhere it too is no longer aesthetically pleasing. If you whole life is in transit, then you have nothing to compare because you have no home. Does not appeal to me, I enjoy returning to home between trips. Change is good when you know it is short lived. Plus, as others have mentioned, sooner or later your age will dictate a permanent solution because of healthcare issues. So I do not worry about that since I have taken care of that issue. Something else, without a permanent home, your credit worthiness can change, they like people who stay in one place vs transients. Credit will impact your insurance rates and other facets of your life.

[steve dunham]

We have traveled to / spent time in many of the so called low tax states
We have not found any of them to be a place we would want to claim as our own or live in or be associated with .

[IMEd]

Originally Posted by steve dunham

We have traveled to / spent time in many of the so called low tax states
We have not found any of them to be a place we would want to claim as our own or live in or be associated with .

But you have to drive on Wisconsin roads which are about the worst in the nation.

[steve dunham]

Originally Posted by Ed Colorado

But you have to drive on Wisconsin roads which are about the worst in the nation.

Wisconsin roads are terrible !! Wisconsin a short while back was in the top five states as far as road quality but now a short 8 years later we are in the bottom five . There are consequences from elections and bad roads is a symptom
Things are changing , we are seeing more road work / road repairs this Spring than in the last decade . In many ways the attempt to turn Wisconsin into a low tax / low service state failed IMHO

[Jim Bennett]

While not completely afraid to spend the monies I have saved for retirement, I do still have to be fairly conscious of how I do so. No problem staying a few nights in an RV campground, and even though the costs do add up it is more that they are not the right settings for us, as we mostly prefer to be camped where there are lots of varied activities.

Still, we need to spend money to travel as we wish. Our 2 1/2 month holiday this year saw our biggest expense by far to be fuel. Lots of camping was free, some 100 to 200 pesos, some around $20 USD, and only 10 nights nearer $50 USD because we wanted the location as camping on the strip in Las Vegas just is not cheap. Food costs are not that different than at home except that though we don't eat out much, it is more than at home so we can experience places.

So, for us it is not all about the money, BUT almost all costs do have a consideration. I still want to spend many, many more years with about half of it spent travelling with our trailer, and a few times with flights to far away places.

[steve dunham]

Originally Posted by Jim Bennett

While not completely afraid to spend the monies I have saved for retirement, I do still have to be fairly conscious of how I do so. No problem staying a few nights in an RV campground, and even though the costs do add up it is more that they are not the right settings for us, as we mostly prefer to be camped where there are lots of varied activities.

Still, we need to spend money to travel as we wish. Our 2 1/2 month holiday this year saw our biggest expense by far to be fuel. Lots of camping was free, some 100 to 200 pesos, some around $20 USD, and only 10 nights nearer $50 USD because we wanted the location as camping on the strip in Las Vegas just is not cheap. Food costs are not that different than at home except that though we don't eat out much, it is more than at home so we can experience places.

So, for us it is not all about the money, BUT almost all costs do have a consideration. I still want to spend many, many more years with about half of it spent travelling with our trailer, and a few times with flights to far away places.

I never considered food as a travel expense . Whether I am at home or at some wilderness campgrounds I still have to eat
Fuel costs are also our largest travel expense but I refuse to constantly calculate or fret over fuel mileage . I figure it all averages out . Simetimes you have a tailwind and others a head wind , sometimes your going uphill and others down
Worrying about 2 cents per gallon or 2 mpg doesn’t get me where I want to go .

[cpaharley2008]

I did a calculation of our costs, 2 years ago, to attend the annual Escape Rally in Osoyoos, driving 7000 miles in 2 weeks and costs for cg enroute as well as NkMip costs. A little over $2100 with $1400 for gas, $400 for camping, $300 for food. Although, as Steve points out food should not be included since one has to eat home or traveling, but I average maybe 1/2 that cost for cooking at home and we all know prepared food costs more. Either way, $150/day was the cost/per day for the trip, which to me is worth it as I enjoy traveling.

[Jim Bennett]

In our 2 1/2 month trip, we spend about $2,400 in fuel, $700 in camping, no real idea on food, though it was not too bad, and about $2,000 in gifts for next Christmas, and doing and buying stuff for ourselves. This was the cost for 2 of us.

Oh yeah, and a couple hundred in vehicle insurance for Mexico.

All costs are in CAD, so cheaper in American dollars. We were happy with our costs. As we do more trips the averaqe cost will come down some too.

[Jim Bennett]

Originally Posted by steve dunham

I never considered food as a travel expense . Whether I am at home or at some wilderness campgrounds I still have to eat
Fuel costs are also our largest travel expense but I refuse to constantly calculate or fret over fuel mileage . I figure it all averages out . Simetimes you have a tailwind and others a head wind , sometimes your going uphill and others down
Worrying about 2 cents per gallon or 2 mpg doesn’t get me where I want to go .

Maybe it is a Canadian thing, but we do need to eat. The cost is much different than at home as we don't get as much on sale, eat quite nice, and dine out more than when at home.

I don't fret over fuel economy, it is what it is. It is more the distance travelled that effects our costs. We do need to consider overall costs as a budget item. 12,000 km travelled our last trip sees much more money spent on fuel than at home, even when working a lot.

[floyd]

Originally Posted by steve dunham

Wisconsin roads are terrible !! Wisconsin a short while back was in the top five states as far as road quality but now a short 8 years later we are in the bottom five . There are consequences from elections and bad roads is a symptom
Things are changing , we are seeing more road work / road repairs this Spring than in the last decade . In many ways the attempt to turn Wisconsin into a low tax / low service state failed IMHO

Try IllAnnoy... we are proud to be a High tax/ low service state, hell-bent on oppression and destruction! The bad roads are just a bonus.