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Chair-man
02-11-2015, 21:51
Still planning my 2016 thru. Got all my gear, did some shakedown hikes, and feel I'm mentally & physically ready.

My biggest hurdle now is moving out of my apartment and basically going homeless for a while which I have some questions about.

What do you do for identification?
Can you keep a drivers license without an address?
Where can you forward your mail?

I have a 1999 car that I might put in storage but will probably sell. Don't know if I can even keep insurance without an address.

Will my bank keep my account without an address?

One options I have is to use my girlfriends address for everything but I'd rather not go that route.

One other option is to keep paying my rent and do half the trail one year and the other half the next but I'd hate to get to Hapers Ferry and have to quit.

For you younger folks who can just dump everything at your parents place and just take off consider yourself lucky.:)

Slo-go'en
02-11-2015, 22:26
I used PO boxes when I was basically homeless for 5 years. I think the state let me use a PO box as an address on the drivers license or I might have just left it as it was until it needed renewing or used a friends address. What ever it takes to keep a valid drivers license.

What to do with your mail is a problem. The PO will only hold it 30 days (but if your in a small town and don't get a lot of mail, they will generally extend that more or less indefinitely) The other option is to get a private mail service PO box which will store your mail.

Old Hillwalker
02-11-2015, 22:43
I used America's Mailbox out of Rapid City, SD. They got me SD registration for my car by mail. Lot's of full time RVers use the service. You get your mail forwarded anywhere just with an email. Using their address you are a legal resident of SD. Forgot what it cost per month, but it wasn't much. I lived on the road for a couple of years that way Pulling a small travel trailer around the country.

http://www.americas-mailbox.com/

Spirit Walker
02-11-2015, 22:43
If you are hiking in 2016, why are you worrying about this now?

For my second AT hike, and all subsequent long hikes and multi-month road trips, I was homeless. It wasn't that big a deal.

There are companies that will scan your envelopes and email them to you, then you decide whether they should be opened and emailed or forwarded to you. Some full time RVers do that. What we did was have the mail forwarded to a family member, who was responsible for looking at the mail, pulling anything that looked important and telling us about it when we called. (i.e. unpaid bills, IRS, Jury duty, etc.) We used different people on different hikes and some were better than others. Only one grossly late bill (unexpected medical bill about 9 months after treatment) in 5 hikes and a couple of other long trips. We paid up everything we knew was coming, or put it on autopay. You can have automatic payments go to your credit cards or just transfer money while on the trail.

Note - some mail won't be forwarded. We were expecting a new debit card, since our old one expired in July. When it didn't arrive, we called the bank and they told us that those are never forwarded. Good thing, really, but a real problem at the time.

We kept our bank accounts etc. while we were on the road/trail. No problem. As long as we paid our Visa bill, they didn't care (except when it came to getting the new debit card. You can keep your insurance on your car, just tell them that you will be travelling and not using the car and you'll get reduced rates. Same with drivers license. You'll need a new license if you move to a new place, but not while you're travelling.

In case you haven't enough things to worry about, you might want to read this from the Thruhiking Papers:
http://spiriteaglehome.com/TH_faster.html

MuddyWaters
02-12-2015, 00:31
Well, I believe you are required by federal law in the US to establish domicile. In other words, you must be a resident of somewhere (a state) with applicable laws and jurisdictions. Basically, you need to be able to receive permanent mail somewhere, whether you are there or not. A PO box suffices if you have abandoned your permanent address, or your parents address, etc. There are also laws regarding informing driver license within X days of change of address, etc, usually not enforced. Same for insurance. You need some permanent address, even if you arent there.

Feral Bill
02-12-2015, 01:43
Well, I believe you are required by federal law in the US to establish domicile. In other words, you must be a resident of somewhere (a state) with applicable laws and jurisdictions.

I very much doubt this. Many Americans are truly homeless. However, as a practical matter Old Hillwalkers suggestion make sense.

Tuckahoe
02-12-2015, 08:54
Well, I believe you are required by federal law in the US to establish domicile. In other words, you must be a resident of somewhere (a state) with applicable laws and jurisdictions. Basically, you need to be able to receive permanent mail somewhere, whether you are there or not. A PO box suffices if you have abandoned your permanent address, or your parents address, etc. There are also laws regarding informing driver license within X days of change of address, etc, usually not enforced. Same for insurance. You need some permanent address, even if you arent there.


I very much doubt this. Many Americans are truly homeless. However, as a practical matter Old Hillwalkers suggestion make sense.

+1
Domicile is not dependent on a legal residence, though legal residence maybe used to prove domicile. An individual may also have more than one legal residence, but only one domicile.

The only federal law regarding an obligation to have an address was for permanent legal resident. Rather than the Feds, it is the states that have more stringent requirements tied to license or ID issuance from DMVs or voter registration. But these also have provisions for homeless.

Chair-man
02-12-2015, 09:55
Thanks for all the feedback.

Last time I went to the DMV to renew my drivers license I had to bring my birth certificate & 2 utility bills to show my residency. They've really tightened up on the ID thing. I'll just have to stop by the DMV office and see what they say. Every state is probably a little different. Same with my bank, insurance company and everyone else I do business with, I'll just have to give them all a call.

Alleghanian Orogeny
02-12-2015, 10:25
Don't private mail box services offer a street address? I believe they're required to include the term PMB (private mail box) in the address, but the outcome is the customer has a mailing address with custom-tailored forwarding as well as a street address, something like:

John Smith
123 Maple Street, PMB 456
Anytown, NC 27615

AO

Hot Flash
02-12-2015, 11:31
I feel your pain, Chair-man. I am going to through-hike in '16 as well, and I am going to put my house on the market, put the things I want to keep into storage, and put my car into storage as well. Then after I'm finished hiking, I will take the money from my (hopefully sold) house, and decide where I want to go live. Fortunately since my children are grown and out of the house, I don't have to worry about anyone else's opinions or needs in regard to this.

It's scary, but what the hell...you only have one life to live, might as well take a few calculated risks, right?

Slo-go'en
02-12-2015, 11:42
Thanks for all the feedback.

Last time I went to the DMV to renew my drivers license I had to bring my birth certificate & 2 utility bills to show my residency. They've really tightened up on the ID thing.

Well, you are in Florida and they are pretty anal about such things. A lot of transients, part time residents and of course, the whole illegal immigrant thing.

Traveler
02-12-2015, 12:35
There are is a range of issues here, that used not to be issues until a few years ago, since the passage of the Real ID law.

You cannot legally open a bank account without a place of residence. The law isn't clear what happens if someone no longer has a residence if they have an existing account that lists one on the original paperwork.

Drivers licenses may be an issue. All States are now required to have the following on their drivers licenses;



The person's full legal name.
The person's date of birth.
The person's gender.
The person's driver's license or identification card number.
A digital photograph of the person.
The person's address of principle residence. (Note that this is an actual physical address, not a p.o. box)

If the license stays current (does not need renewing) there likely won't be an issue unless you are stopped and checked by police. If your stated residence comes back as no longer valid, there will be an issue since the police will not know if its a simple address correction thats needed or if you are not who you claim to be. If the license requires renewal, that may be a problem. Most states now are in compliance with the Real ID Law and require demonstration of residence, using utility bills as proof of residency.

Voting will be a problem until you get your voter ID squared away as you won't be able to use the old residence. Given its a Presidential election, this may be of concern.


Without a residential address, how will your auto insurer find you? Also, how will you manage other insurers (health insurance for example), credit card bills, bank statements, and all the stuff that will mess you up if you ignore that. These typically need a change of address card, which PO Boxes are probably suitable.

Though it may not be an issue when you are on the Trail, it most certainly will on your return unless you make some plans to smooth that road out.

Dogwood
02-12-2015, 22:09
Similar in function to a PO BOX is a Mail Boxes ETC type address. It is a legal address but instead of the red flags that can arise when using a PO Box # as an legal address you use a Suite #. No problem. Get automatic bill pay. Don't change your DL address for a 1 yr stint of a thru-hike unless you enjoy hassles and additional fees!

jfarrell04
02-12-2015, 22:53
Love the Bob Dylan reference in the thread title!

dren
02-12-2015, 23:25
I don't know about other states, but in Virginia you have to provide your physical address to the DMV but you are allowed to put a PO box as the address on your license. Your physical address does not have to be listed on your license.


There are is a range of issues here, that used not to be issues until a few years ago, since the passage of the Real ID law.

You cannot legally open a bank account without a place of residence. The law isn't clear what happens if someone no longer has a residence if they have an existing account that lists one on the original paperwork.

Drivers licenses may be an issue. All States are now required to have the following on their drivers licenses;



The person's full legal name.
The person's date of birth.
The person's gender.
The person's driver's license or identification card number.
A digital photograph of the person.
The person's address of principle residence. (Note that this is an actual physical address, not a p.o. box)
If the license stays current (does not need renewing) there likely won't be an issue unless you are stopped and checked by police. If your stated residence comes back as no longer valid, there will be an issue since the police will not know if its a simple address correction thats needed or if you are not who you claim to be. If the license requires renewal, that may be a problem. Most states now are in compliance with the Real ID Law and require demonstration of residence, using utility bills as proof of residency.
Voting will be a problem until you get your voter ID squared away as you won't be able to use the old residence. Given its a Presidential election, this may be of concern.


Without a residential address, how will your auto insurer find you? Also, how will you manage other insurers (health insurance for example), credit card bills, bank statements, and all the stuff that will mess you up if you ignore that. These typically need a change of address card, which PO Boxes are probably suitable.

Though it may not be an issue when you are on the Trail, it most certainly will on your return unless you make some plans to smooth that road out.