Speaking of hips, I have had pain from my left hip which affects my ability to move around the boat and especially affects my ability to get in and out of the dinghy with the dogs. My PCP thinks it is something called trochanteric bursitis. It apparently doesn't show up on x rays. He injected some cortisone in the area but it really didn't do a lot insofar as quieting it down.I’d decided I was ready to go all in on living aboard but I don’t see any way at this point to do it. The boat’s document can only go to a physical street address so I talked to the local UPS Store two or three times and they said, “No problem, we have several boat people using our service.”
I went to sign up and read through the fine print on the documents they gave me to sign. It said that they were mail agents only and claiming the address as a residence or place of business constituted fraud as a federal crime. Those other boat people happily using their service are either leaving behind houses that they rent or leave empty or are more comfortable flirting with fraud punishable by jail time than I am.
I then called the motor vehicle department and said I would be traveling for a couple of years, didn’t plan to maintain an apartment while I was gone, and would rent another place when I returned. How could I maintain my residency? They were very clear, no way. Unless I have a legally binding document such as a deed, lease, or utility bill tying me to a specific physical address that is legal for occupancy, my driver’s license and car registration become void. No wiggle room. She went out of her way to say, “Staying with a friend doesn’t count.” Neither does paying thousands of dollars a year to the state in income taxes, local excise taxes on the boat, and being a registered voter.
I can sell the car; I’d planned to do that anyway. However, I can’t manage without a driver’s license. Enterprise car rental is my cruising lifeline since stores are far from the waterfront in most towns and there are always other errands to run. I also like to get away from the boat from time to time. Life without being able to legally drive is just not something I prepared to take on, even for cruising.
Fortunately, I haven’t given up my old address yet so I have some time to figure this out although I haven’t a clue yet what to do. The only option I can see at this point is to rent a very small apartment and just store my stuff in it. However, my cruising budget is slim enough that I then wouldn’t be able to afford to keep cruising so the whole question would then become moot.
Post 911 and in the third decade of the war on drugs (and just about everything else) society simply doesn’t have a place for people who aren’t willing to be pinned to the board like a bug; at least without being a lot more marginal than I’m willing to be.
It’s ironic that this all came up on the same day that I got much more positive news about continuing cruising. The report on my hip/spine joint X-ray came back and there is no sign of arthritis. That is very strange because my doctor (three doctors ago) saw it 15 years ago and all the problems have been in exactly the spot she identified. It’s good news because it means that there is nothing visibly degenerative going on as she predicted. Why the joint gets inflamed from time to time is now a mystery. The old X-ray was unfortunately lost during the three records transfers. I’ll find out more when I see the back doctor in August if I haven’t moved to a civilized country where paying taxes will let me drive a car by then.
Quite right. As long as I am not actually living in another state and using the Maine address to get lower car insurance, benefits from Maine, etc., I'm not going to be found guilty of anything. The link dugout posted was very helpful. My intention is clearly to remain a state of Maine resident and eventually return.First of all I do not think that submitting a mail address as a residence constitutes criminal fraud by itself. One requisite of fraud is that the alleged victim must have suffered injury.
I'm not worried about the NSA but this is a serious point. Data collection and mining makes it almost impossible to slip through the cracks the way one could have done just a decade ago.As we now know, this thread is being harvested over at NSA, studied by an intel analyst, and forwarded to the IRS.
Yes, and I think the title of the thread has held up to all the discussion. I think I am going to have to rent the smallest and cheapest room or apartment I can find.It goes much further than a drivers license.
That probably would work and is very similar to my situation, no mail delivery out at the lake. The major issue would be having to get a New York driver's license. I'm beginning to realize that mail is a separate issue from voting, bank accounts, etc. The UPS Store can be my agent for mail from an address anywhere in the country. It is a postal regulation that there has to be a physical address behind it. Since my name is on a deed, the cottage would count.How about a PO box in the town where your seasonal cottage is located ?
I’d decided I was ready to go all in on living aboard but I don’t see any way at this point to do it. The boat’s document can only go to a physical street address so I talked to the local UPS Store two or three times and they said, “No problem, we have several boat people using our service.”
I went to sign up and read through the fine print on the documents they gave me to sign. It said that they were mail agents only and claiming the address as a residence or place of business constituted fraud as a federal crime. Those other boat people happily using their service are either leaving behind houses that they rent or leave empty or are more comfortable flirting with fraud punishable by jail time than I am.
I then called the motor vehicle department and said I would be traveling for a couple of years, didn’t plan to maintain an apartment while I was gone, and would rent another place when I returned. How could I maintain my residency? They were very clear, no way. Unless I have a legally binding document such as a deed, lease, or utility bill tying me to a specific physical address that is legal for occupancy, my driver’s license and car registration become void. No wiggle room. She went out of her way to say, “Staying with a friend doesn’t count.” Neither does paying thousands of dollars a year to the state in income taxes, local excise taxes on the boat, and being a registered voter.
I can sell the car; I’d planned to do that anyway. However, I can’t manage without a driver’s license. Enterprise car rental is my cruising lifeline since stores are far from the waterfront in most towns and there are always other errands to run. I also like to get away from the boat from time to time. Life without being able to legally drive is just not something I prepared to take on, even for cruising.
Fortunately, I haven’t given up my old address yet so I have some time to figure this out although I haven’t a clue yet what to do. The only option I can see at this point is to rent a very small apartment and just store my stuff in it. However, my cruising budget is slim enough that I then wouldn’t be able to afford to keep cruising so the whole question would then become moot.
Post 911 and in the third decade of the war on drugs (and just about everything else) society simply doesn’t have a place for people who aren’t willing to be pinned to the board like a bug; at least without being a lot more marginal than I’m willing to be.
It’s ironic that this all came up on the same day that I got much more positive news about continuing cruising. The report on my hip/spine joint X-ray came back and there is no sign of arthritis. That is very strange because my doctor (three doctors ago) saw it 15 years ago and all the problems have been in exactly the spot she identified. It’s good news because it means that there is nothing visibly degenerative going on as she predicted. Why the joint gets inflamed from time to time is now a mystery. The old X-ray was unfortunately lost during the three records transfers. I’ll find out more when I see the back doctor in August if I haven’t moved to a civilized country where paying taxes will let me drive a car by then.
I’d decided I was ready to go all in on living aboard but I don’t see any way at this point to do it. The boat’s document can only go to a physical street address so I talked to the local UPS Store two or three times and they said, “No problem, we have several boat people using our service.”
I went to sign up and read through the fine print on the documents they gave me to sign. It said that they were mail agents only and claiming the address as a residence or place of business constituted fraud as a federal crime. Those other boat people happily using their service are either leaving behind houses that they rent or leave empty or are more comfortable flirting with fraud punishable by jail time than I am.
I then called the motor vehicle department and said I would be traveling for a couple of years, didn’t plan to maintain an apartment while I was gone, and would rent another place when I returned. How could I maintain my residency? They were very clear, no way. Unless I have a legally binding document such as a deed, lease, or utility bill tying me to a specific physical address that is legal for occupancy, my driver’s license and car registration become void. No wiggle room. She went out of her way to say, “Staying with a friend doesn’t count.” Neither does paying thousands of dollars a year to the state in income taxes, local excise taxes on the boat, and being a registered voter.
I can sell the car; I’d planned to do that anyway. However, I can’t manage without a driver’s license. Enterprise car rental is my cruising lifeline since stores are far from the waterfront in most towns and there are always other errands to run. I also like to get away from the boat from time to time. Life without being able to legally drive is just not something I prepared to take on, even for cruising.
Fortunately, I haven’t given up my old address yet so I have some time to figure this out although I haven’t a clue yet what to do. The only option I can see at this point is to rent a very small apartment and just store my stuff in it. However, my cruising budget is slim enough that I then wouldn’t be able to afford to keep cruising so the whole question would then become moot.
Post 911 and in the third decade of the war on drugs (and just about everything else) society simply doesn’t have a place for people who aren’t willing to be pinned to the board like a bug; at least without being a lot more marginal than I’m willing to be.
It’s ironic that this all came up on the same day that I got much more positive news about continuing cruising. The report on my hip/spine joint X-ray came back and there is no sign of arthritis. That is very strange because my doctor (three doctors ago) saw it 15 years ago and all the problems have been in exactly the spot she identified. It’s good news because it means that there is nothing visibly degenerative going on as she predicted. Why the joint gets inflamed from time to time is now a mystery. The old X-ray was unfortunately lost during the three records transfers. I’ll find out more when I see the back doctor in August if I haven’t moved to a civilized country where paying taxes will let me drive a car by then.
I’d decided I was ready to go all in on living aboard but I don’t see any way at this point to do it. The boat’s document can only go to a physical street address so I talked to the local UPS Store two or three times and they said, “No problem, we have several boat people using our service.”
I went to sign up and read through the fine print on the documents they gave me to sign. It said that they were mail agents only and claiming the address as a residence or place of business constituted fraud as a federal crime. Those other boat people happily using their service are either leaving behind houses that they rent or leave empty or are more comfortable flirting with fraud punishable by jail time than I am.
I then called the motor vehicle department and said I would be traveling for a couple of years, didn’t plan to maintain an apartment while I was gone, and would rent another place when I returned. How could I maintain my residency? They were very clear, no way. Unless I have a legally binding document such as a deed, lease, or utility bill tying me to a specific physical address that is legal for occupancy, my driver’s license and car registration become void. No wiggle room. She went out of her way to say, “Staying with a friend doesn’t count.” Neither does paying thousands of dollars a year to the state in income taxes, local excise taxes on the boat, and being a registered voter.
I can sell the car; I’d planned to do that anyway. However, I can’t manage without a driver’s license. Enterprise car rental is my cruising lifeline since stores are far from the waterfront in most towns and there are always other errands to run. I also like to get away from the boat from time to time. Life without being able to legally drive is just not something I prepared to take on, even for cruising.
Fortunately, I haven’t given up my old address yet so I have some time to figure this out although I haven’t a clue yet what to do. The only option I can see at this point is to rent a very small apartment and just store my stuff in it. However, my cruising budget is slim enough that I then wouldn’t be able to afford to keep cruising so the whole question would then become moot.
Post 911 and in the third decade of the war on drugs (and just about everything else) society simply doesn’t have a place for people who aren’t willing to be pinned to the board like a bug; at least without being a lot more marginal than I’m willing to be.
It’s ironic that this all came up on the same day that I got much more positive news about continuing cruising. The report on my hip/spine joint X-ray came back and there is no sign of arthritis. That is very strange because my doctor (three doctors ago) saw it 15 years ago and all the problems have been in exactly the spot she identified. It’s good news because it means that there is nothing visibly degenerative going on as she predicted. Why the joint gets inflamed from time to time is now a mystery. The old X-ray was unfortunately lost during the three records transfers. I’ll find out more when I see the back doctor in August if I haven’t moved to a civilized country where paying taxes will let me drive a car by then.
Yes I know. It's an option here in Portland and about half the cost of a very small apartment. It's one of the things I'm considering.You can rent a small live aboard slip as your home ...
An international drivers license requires a drivers license issued by your home country, it is good for the sooner of three years or whenever your home license expires.Your problem with a drivers license should be solved by obtaining a international drivers license. Your local AAA should help with that. I would think that some boat friendly state
might allow you to register your boat there and use it as an address -- southern Calif has a lot of live aboards as does Fla. might try one of those. Good luck - I hope you can sail away like many of us only dream about.
LarryT
The world has changed. The war on terror, immigration hysteria, and the Federal Real ID law have made a legally binding document tying you to a specific physical location mandatory.i dont see how a document cannot go to a usps box. it used to be able to do that....i use a store front