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Alex The Great
Recycles dryer sheets
Thanks, this is an excellent idea.
Virtual mail box for expats
- Thread starter Alex The Great
- Start date
SecondAttempt
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
6 months ago I would have +1 this. For years I have had a box in a private mail box company. It was not UPS but bear with me. They closed suddenly on December 31 and it has been a nightmare since. I have literally lost mail although I don't think anything important. The USPS will not forward. The former owners are trying to be helpful but their hands are tied by postal regulations.
Probably not coindidentally, the UPS store also closed so most likely people who had boxes there are going through a similar nightmare. The USPS is not very supportive of contract vendors so be aware that anyone you choose could blow up.
Can't give you an honest answer. Traveling Mailbox gives you a physical street address, one of the reasons I chose them. But when I went into my main credit cards and tried to change the address to it,, the CC's would give me a message to the affect of "unable to use this address" or something like that. I assume they have it in their system that this is a mail drop and block it, but just my assumption.
For our phones we have Google Fi and kept our phone numbers we have had for 25+ years. Works great for two factor authentication and we just only call the US on Skype or other wifi callls to keep the cost reasonable.
Bryan Barnfellow
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Renewals of the few US credit cards I have maintained are sent to the USABox address with no problem.
-BB
-BB
I used Skype like this for a number of years with a robotic voice speaking the 2 factor code which I then typed in to complete the log in. However, last year I logged onto my Vanguard account and found that it now accepts international mobile numbers so changed my registered phone number to use my UK phone and it works great. Will it not allow you to enter your country code followed by your Swiss number?
Bryan Barnfellow
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Yes, I have that option. But, I try not to shine light on my non-US contact information; hence the use of the Skype US number. I know that you can also just turn off the 2 Factor completely, which I don't want to do. Thanks.
-BB
Dd852
Full time employment: Posting here.
Google voice works very well for all two factor. It is a bit of a pain to set up as it doesn’t in theory allow non-US residents to set it up initially (though afterwards it works perfectly overseas). I signed up by first getting a T-mobile sim-less US mobile number for one month ($40) (something designed for travelers so no problem there), signing up to google voice using a VPN to a US IP address. It all worked and bow I can get SMSs and 2F announcements without a problem.
Closet_Gamer
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
We use traveling mailbox.
Overall pretty happy, but having two address (1 more mail and another for packages) has caused us no end of confusion and extra shipping fees. Also tends to be a bit on the slow side.
Managing credit cards in a nightmare as there are rules on forwarding credit cards if they figure out what is inside the envelope. Live checks are another major headache.
We keep a US phone alive for text messages and other verification from various financial firms. Most US firms have no clue what to do with an international telephone number. We've even encountered a few situations with companies that refuse to speak with you on a Skype number.
Overall pretty happy, but having two address (1 more mail and another for packages) has caused us no end of confusion and extra shipping fees. Also tends to be a bit on the slow side.
Managing credit cards in a nightmare as there are rules on forwarding credit cards if they figure out what is inside the envelope. Live checks are another major headache.
We keep a US phone alive for text messages and other verification from various financial firms. Most US firms have no clue what to do with an international telephone number. We've even encountered a few situations with companies that refuse to speak with you on a Skype number.
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Alex The Great
Recycles dryer sheets
Thanks this is a very useful piece of info. Yes Google Voice may not work for foreign IP addresses directly and VPN is really required. Also I do have Ultra Mobile (this is MVNO out of T-Mobile) which cost me around $5 a month just in case Google Voice may have issues. It has low minutes (I think 100 minutes) but all talks come through Google Voice anyway.
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Alex The Great
Recycles dryer sheets
Thanks, this is something I did not expect. So far according to other posts, I assume it might have something to do specifically with Traveling Mailbox?
Dd852
Full time employment: Posting here.
I’ve never had any trouble with checks - in fact us global mail will even deposit for you if you want (not something I’ve tried). I haven’t sent credit cards but I can’t imagine it is a problem - you have the choice to ask them to open the envelope or not before sending on (sometimes it is useful to save on packing weight).
Lagniappe
Recycles dryer sheets
- Joined
- Mar 21, 2006
- Messages
- 406
I signed up for Traveling Mailbox last month. I have had mixed success getting financial institutions to accept the address as valid. Fidelity accepts the address while Vanguard and Bank of America say it is not an address recognized by the USPS.
If anyone has any pointers, please share them.
If anyone has any pointers, please share them.
NedSaid
Confused about dryer sheets
- Joined
- Jan 15, 2022
- Messages
- 2
For those of you that have a separate mailing and residential address on file, do they ever actually send any mail to the residential address? Just wondering how much (if any?) mail one would expect to receive at the permanent address.
NedSaid
Confused about dryer sheets
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- Jan 15, 2022
- Messages
- 2
Some of them do not. I have GV and cannot establish 2FA with either Chase or Ally Bank.
Vanguard is the only company where I have had this situation and I never received anything from them at my street address. I now have nowhere with a correspondence address different from my street address.
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Alex The Great
Recycles dryer sheets
I don't know about Ally, but Chase would never send SMS for 2FA into my google voice number even in US. But when I choose to get a call, then my phone is ringing and I'm able to hear the number. Not a big deal, taking into account it is one time for specific IP.
Retired Expat
Full time employment: Posting here.
Lots of options. I use TravelingMailbox.com. File an affidavit that you can do online with a notary snd they will open and scan your mail. I almost never need to forward things overseas or even to the US for pick up later. They will even mail in checks you receive. For taxes I use my foreign address and my US mailing address.
I still use a relatives address for Bank, investment stuff where they require a residential address but most everything comes online too. It really hasn’t been a problem anymore.
I still use a relatives address for Bank, investment stuff where they require a residential address but most everything comes online too. It really hasn’t been a problem anymore.
Quite a few folks have used EscapeesRVclub to set up a "domicile" which gives them a Texas address and a mail service option. Texas doesn't have state income tax and if you can get a Texas driver's license you'll likely be able to use this. I've not done this but am looking into it as we're planning overseas living on a longer-term basis.
www.escapees.com/education/domicile/texas/
www.escapees.com/how-rvers-get-their-mail-guide/
www.escapees.com/education/domicile/texas/
www.escapees.com/how-rvers-get-their-mail-guide/
A Gold One
Dryer sheet wannabe
- Joined
- May 26, 2019
- Messages
- 12
We became expats in 2009 and gave up our physical address 8 years ago. As an expat there are certain challenges but you learn a few hacks to make your life easier. Here are a few we use for mail and phone:
The mail service we use is a UPS store, and we use this on accounts as our 'Mailing Address'. For financial institutions that validate a physical address, using use our old physical address has worked fine. Would also consider a relatives address if this was a problem. forwarding mail has not been an issue - but we don't use them for packages. (more on this later)
Something to keep in mind though: Depending on where you actually live, firms may not have regulatory approval to advise you in your jurisdiction. This was the case with JP Morgan when we lived in HK and also some of our current FS firms. Don't ask, don't tell works for these ;-)
Our US mailing address has had no effect on state residency.
For a US home phone number, we use a service called Vonage. Its a monthly phone service and with it you get a little appliance that you connect to the internet and a to regular phone. This has moved with us to several countries in Europe and Asia over the past 12 years without any problem. Works for credit card home phone as well.
For package forwarding, a service called Aramex shop&ship has worked well. It is cheap and reliable. You get a box number when you sign up for the service which allows you to have packages delivered to their address in any country they have an office. They use your 'box number' to automatically route the package to where you live. They also handle all the customs clearance, duty and local taxes. Shipping rates are wholesale. For example for our location a 1 pound package from the US would cost about $95.00 for FedEx and about $8.00 with Aramex.
Hope this helps.
The mail service we use is a UPS store, and we use this on accounts as our 'Mailing Address'. For financial institutions that validate a physical address, using use our old physical address has worked fine. Would also consider a relatives address if this was a problem. forwarding mail has not been an issue - but we don't use them for packages. (more on this later)
Something to keep in mind though: Depending on where you actually live, firms may not have regulatory approval to advise you in your jurisdiction. This was the case with JP Morgan when we lived in HK and also some of our current FS firms. Don't ask, don't tell works for these ;-)
Our US mailing address has had no effect on state residency.
For a US home phone number, we use a service called Vonage. Its a monthly phone service and with it you get a little appliance that you connect to the internet and a to regular phone. This has moved with us to several countries in Europe and Asia over the past 12 years without any problem. Works for credit card home phone as well.
For package forwarding, a service called Aramex shop&ship has worked well. It is cheap and reliable. You get a box number when you sign up for the service which allows you to have packages delivered to their address in any country they have an office. They use your 'box number' to automatically route the package to where you live. They also handle all the customs clearance, duty and local taxes. Shipping rates are wholesale. For example for our location a 1 pound package from the US would cost about $95.00 for FedEx and about $8.00 with Aramex.
Hope this helps.
Retired Expat
Full time employment: Posting here.
So this topic has changed a bit from mail forwarding or virtual mail, into a discussion of tax domicile which is much more complicated. Having had to prove to both NY and CA that I was now an expat I can tell you it is not just one thing..
Some of the things I had to show to prove that I had moved. Drivers license from another country, doctor bills from overseas, lease or purchase of house, utility bills in my name. sale of my Car in US and registration of new one overseas, vet bills overseas. You have to show that your life has moved, not just that you are spending time somewhere else. It wasn’t hard, but I never gave up my US bank or credit cards or my brokerage accounts. I still maintain a US number (Magic Jack was a great help) and I can call the US for free too. And for NY a year of flight information and a calendarized list of days spent there versus CA versus out of the country while making the transition that proved my time was not being spent in NY, since I still owned my home there and had rented it out. There contention was that I intended to return to NY and my move was a temporary thing for work.
I just started using Anytime Mailbox about 2 weeks ago. I am planning on traveling from MD to FL and checking out different places along the way. Time to get out of cold weather. Maybe snowbird. Anyhow, AM has many virtual addresses to choose from. I chose one about 6 miles from my house so when I'm home I can have them hold the mail and I'll just drop by and pick it up. Which I have already done. Very convenient!
I lived in China from 2012-2019, so have direct experience. At first, we had my son bulk up the Mail and forward it. That was good because he could recognize important stuff, but we switched because as a new college grad, he kept moving and was busy with his life. We used USA2Me and were happy. Every day we got an email with a photo of each letter. If it was junk, we could discard it, and once a month they sent a bulk package. This was about $25/month If something looked urgent, we could pay a fee and they would open and scan it right away (for maybe $1/page). Packages were charged per package, and it was expensive and customs were involved so we really didn’t do that. We had no problem with banks, credit cards or vanguard using that address. The problem we did have, particularly at Christmas, was ordering things on line. The credit card filters would flag a lot of purchases from a China IP address to various locations in the US. That was a pain in the neck! But overall it worked. They key is 99% of our important mail was electronic.
For taxes, we had a NJ house, so paid and filed NJ income tax. After 2 years, we sold the house and broke NJ residency and didn’t file state taxes for 4 years. We had a seasonal cabin in another state so we used that address to register our cars and drivers license, but didn’t show income and didn’t file state tax. (A benefit of a corporate move is big four accountants doing our taxes…)
For taxes, we had a NJ house, so paid and filed NJ income tax. After 2 years, we sold the house and broke NJ residency and didn’t file state taxes for 4 years. We had a seasonal cabin in another state so we used that address to register our cars and drivers license, but didn’t show income and didn’t file state tax. (A benefit of a corporate move is big four accountants doing our taxes…)
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travelingmailbox.com
I've been using traveling mailbox for over 2 years. 19.99 a month and the address looks like a street address. They scan mail within 24 hours. I've been happy with them, you can chat with them in the website if you have questions. Their customer service is also been great.
My address looks like this...Similar to this but not exact
1055 NE 65th St #4755
Seattle, WA 98115-6655
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Alex The Great
Recycles dryer sheets
Thanks to everyone for the valuable info. It looks like Traveling Mailbox is quite popular here. Which is a bit surprising, since it has some bad reviews on trustedpilot. Anyway, I need to take a note.
