Thanks for the interesting info! Question for you, I’ve been wondering how people go nomad ‘legally’. I’m in the process of packing up and travelling, but am finding legal restrictions, mainly in the requirement of maintaining a “physical residential address” and current driver’s license. If one is travelling around, how does one manage that? Thanks for any help!
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We use my brothers address as our physical residential address, and here in the UK, the driving licence only needs changing every 10 years so that is not an issue.
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Thank you! I’ve been trying to figure out who’s address I can use. You’re not required to update your address on your license? We are here in the U.S. Or they fine you. 
I’m also from the UK, but haven’t lived there for over 20 years. My (German) husband and I are fully nomadic. I use the address of an old friend in UK for ‘residential’ purposes. I e all banking, property stuff, driving licence, tax. I’ve never actually lived at her address but since I have no official residence anywhere else that works for me. We both use my hubbys son’s address in Germany for all our German banking, health insurance, etc. Nomads don’t generally fit easily into a pigeon hole so one needs to get creative at times! 
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@Calebsmum in the UK the address on your driving licence should match your residential address. So once you’ve chosen an address just make sure everything matches!
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Strictly speaking, You should update your licence with any new address here in the UK too, but I don’t think the police are too strict about it. They would only know if they needed your license but I am not sure in what scenario that would happen. I’ve had my licence for 45 years and can’t ever remember havng to show it to the police. Hiring cars with a odd address has never been a problem for me - the address on my current license is a houe we lived in five years ago, when it comes for renewal, if we are still nomadic at that time, I will change it to my brothers.
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I see from one of your comments you are from the US as are my husband and I. There are a few states that allow people to establish residency without actually having a residence there. We chose South Dakota as it seemed the easiest and most straightforward.
There are a few companies that offer a mailbox service and that address serves as your official address. You must spend one night in the state every 5 years (show proof with a receipt from the accommodation) and keep your mailbox current to maintain your residency. We set our up in October 2023.
We registered for our mailbox, drove out to South Dakota, got our receipt from the hotel and brought all the other necessary paperwork to the DMV–their website will outline all that you need.
Then we registered our vehicle at the county treasurer’s office of the county where are mailbox is located. You can get the license however at any DMV in the state.
If you do have a vehicle, there is no inspection so you don’t have to worry about going there for that purpose.
Licenses are good for five years --online renewals are possible I believe even for traveler residents but not sure of that process as we still have a few years to go on that. The one night in the state needed for the initial license and the renewal must have been within the last year.
I used ChooseSD.com to set up my mailbox. I have been very happy with their service.
If you have any questions about this, just let me know.
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someone previously posted about South Dakota’s residency requirements and licensing being nomad friendly. The state only requires a one-night stay to establish residency and qualify for a license. Texas allows the use of mail forwarding services as a permanent address. Check out SavvyNomad.com for a state by state breakdown
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SD is a great option for nomads EXCEPT they recently changed their income tax regulations in a way that makes it insanely complicated. So if you’re working remotely / earning income as a nomad, they’re no longer a top option.
For mail service, I use traveling mailbox [referral link], which scans the envelope of any mail that arrives, then I can ask them to forward to me, trash, shred, hold, open+scan, etc
I’ve also looked into formally establishing tax residency in FL through this agency but haven’t pushed the button yet.
I lived in NYC for years before traveling full-time and have never had a driver’s license, so thankfully that’s been a non-issue! Voting and taxes are both impacted by your decisions in this area though.
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Vielen Dank! Ich würde gerne wieder nach Deutschland gehen.
Thank you very much! I would love to go back to Germany
(Translated to English by moderator)
thank you so much!
thanks for the info.. I’m considering Florida, as my dad lives there and I could use his address. But the license thing would require that I go down there now to set that up. I like the idea of the ‘traveling mailbox’. How hard is it to get to the different sits without a car? I’m considering selling mine, but not sure if it’s a good idea or not. I do love public transportation, lived in Seattle for years and that’s all I got around on, but not all of the sits I’m seeing offer that alternative.
We maintained our former physical address on drivers license and auto-forward mail to a postal box (ipostal1.com). When mail arrives there we are notified (app, email) and choose to discard to trash (secure/not), scan to PDF, or forward unopened mail to another physical address. Clearly there are fees involved. As digitally minded people then this digital approach to physical mail works nicely for us. Separately, during the period prior to commencing full-time nomadic lifestyle then we terminated substantially all non-essential physical mail, and enrolled in paperless options for desirable mail.
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You are welcome but something I wanted to add that I just came across. There was a change in the law a couple of years ago that I was not aware of because it did not affect me as a self-employed person, and not sure if it would affect you.
For full-time travelers who work remotely for companies in other states, the tax benefits of residency don’t seem to apply anymore.
The government no longer allows an out-of-state company to pay into the SD’s unemployment fund on behalf of residents who are full-time travelers.
And I am not 100 percent sure it this applies across the board everywhere in the country, but I read a post from someone in GA who was told that this change means her company–which is now paying her unemployment tax to GA-- no longer considers her a SD resident, and they will start withholding state income tax from her check.
Also, they just passed a law–whether it stands or not remains to be seen–that in order to be able to register to vote in state elections, you must have a residence where you stay for at least 30 consecutive days. You would still be able to receive ballots for federal elections.
But as for getting a driver’s license, there is still only the one night ever 5 years requirement.
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As for whether to sell your car or not, it really depends on your circumstances. When my husband and I are in the US we have a vehicle–our friend lets us keep it at her house when we are out of the country.
Having a car will definitely be a benefit in that you will have more sits open to you and the more sits you have open to you, the less likely you are to experience gaps in your schedule where you would need to pay for accommodation. Though this may not be something you care about much.
But the US has so many sits so it is probably possible to line up a steady stream even if you are limited to ones that don’t require a vehicle.
As someone who has little interest in spending a lot of time in urban areas when sitting domestically–internationally it is different–I really like having our car. I would not enjoy having to spend the vast majority of my time in more urban areas because we could only stay in places that are accessible by public transport and don’t require a car to get around.
If keeping your car is something feasible financially I would recommend it, unless of course you have a strong preference to primarily stay in places that don’t require one to access or get around.
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The answer here depends on several factors. I’ve never had a car and really dislike riding in cars – I would much rather walk 15-20 minutes (if needed) to the store than have to drive – so I have no complaints.
Some sits are not accessible without a car. But there are still plenty of opportunities! Unless you’re really restricted on other search criteria, you’ll have no problem finding walkable/accessible sits.
I always use the ‘accessible by public transit’ filter on my searches… But keep in mind this checkbox can be deceiving. Some sits technically have public transport, but it’s only a bus that passes through 3 times/day and/or doesn’t run on weekends. So always double-check how much transit there is through research and by confirming with the owner before committing to a sit.
I still will accept some harder-to-reach sits as a kind of retreat. I don’t mind the isolation (as long as I sandwich it with some city time) and enjoy the break. In these situations, I usually wait to see if the owner offers to pick me up from the train station/airport before committing to the sit, as it’s particularly daunting to arrive on my own at such sits. (Many HOs do make this offer of help!)
Particularly in these cases, consider what you’ll do for groceries. How often will you go to the store? How much will you want to buy with each shopping trip? (remember, you’ll be carrying it back!) Is grocery delivery available in that area, and if so, would you use the service? When I was living in NYC, I became accustomed to stopping for groceries every 2-3 days and picking up only ~1 bag of items at a time. (This is also a good strategy as a sitter, as it helps prevent over-buying for the duration of your sit.) But if you’re used to filling a large shopping cart every time you’re at the store, then you’ll obviously have to make some adjustments without a car. (Shopping with a basket rather than a cart can help.)
It also depends on where you’re trying to travel. The UK/Europe in particular is very well-connected by train/transit. Many of these countries are filled with villages that developed pre-car… so they’re better set up for pedestrians than most US towns are. And of course, cities around the world are generally quite pedestrian-friendly and have at least some transit (though this isn’t always the case, esp in US). But some countries have less infrastructure and are more limited on available transit – so you have to consider which countries you’re hoping to travel to.
Keep in mind also that traveling without a car impacts how much luggage you can reasonably carry. At this point, I travel full-time with only a small (carry-on) hardside suitcase + a backpack (personal item). To me, it’s just too much hassle trying to deal with anything more than that (though others travel car-less with a little more luggage than me). It’s very doable to limit yourself in this way but can be a big step if you’re not used to traveling lite. (Check out previous posts on this topic: Luggage Preferences and Packing Light & Tips for travelling light(er) between sits with food supplies)
Also keep in mind what you would do during an emergency. My plan is always to rely on rideshare (lyft, uber, bolt, etc) in the event that I need to get to the vet.
So - yes, having no car creates some limits for you to work within. But it’s very, very doable and (I think) makes life easier. It just depends on what you’re looking for, though!
I would suggest asking yourself…
- do I enjoy walking, or does it feel like a bother? (10-15 minutes to reach a store/transit stop is common)
- what countries do I definitely want to travel to? what’s transit like there?
- am I looking for sits in the city, small towns/villages, or countryside?
- does any of the above grocery-shopping scenario sound daunting?
- how much luggage do I intend to carry with me to sits?
Note also that sometimes HOs have a bike that they’ll make available to you, or there are plenty of public share services in cities for bikes/scooters (including electric) if that appeals to you!
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Rideshares/taxis can also certainly help fill a no-car gap. Depending on your current vehicle/driving budget, you may even find that relying on these services costs less than owning your own car. But it completely depends on how much you’re using each!
Note also that rideshare services aren’t available everywhere. If your location is very remote, you may need to call and schedule ahead with a taxi service to get a ride.
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Any insights or lessons learned now that you’re several years out from this transition? I want to break up with California; I’m already out of house/lease and have ipostal for mail but in CA.
Hi Rachael
My husband and I have been doing the nomad thing for quite awhile–since 2011–but were maintaining NJ residency up until 2023.
When I found out about the handful of states that allow you to establish residency without having to actually live there full-time, it made a lot of sense for us. Becoming SD residents had a lot of benefits we found attractive and there was no reason we had to maintain NJ residency.
With South Dakota, there was no state income tax, much cheaper car insurance, no vehicle inspection and setting it up was so easy.
A handful of other income-tax-free states (this is often the big draw) also have more lenient residency requirements such as Florida and Texas. I know there are some others but I think SD and these two are the most popular.
Like I mentioned in an earlier post, changes to the law regarding remote employees of companies outside the state no longer seem to benefit as far as taxes go, but that doesn’t affect us as we are self-employed.
If your main issue is establishing residency so you have a driver’s license and somewhere to register your car if you have one–this is our biggest reason for having official residency somewhere in the US–SD is a good choice I think.
As far as being a nomad in general, we have been living this way for so long and we can’t imagine doing anything differently. Perhaps at some point that will change and if it does, then we will stop. It has its challenges for sure and it certainly isn’t for everyone.
Housesitting has been great for us because while we enjoy travelign and seeing new places, we also like the comforts of home and some degree of routine. I like having animals around.
I like staying in nice houses and apartments rather than living out of hotels or AirBnB’s --for the most part, I couldn’t afford to rent the same types of spaces I stay in when sitting, and even if I could, I likely wouldn’t anyway. I couldn’t imagine renting a 4 bedroom house for example for just the two of us.
If people are considering housesitting full-time or making it the bulk of their travel, it is important to get a sense of what you value, your deal breakers,etc…
Sometimes people know at least some of this right away, sometimes it is learned over time based on experience. It is important to honor these preferences for the best experience.
For example, I really don’t like staying in smaller spaces–like studio apartments-- because they make me sort of antsy, especially since I am traveling with another person.
While I might consider it for a shorter sit to fill a gap in my schedule, doing it longer term would not work for me no matter how great the location, whether it is in the center of the best neighborhood in Paris, an ocean front property in Hawaii, or some exotic far-flung Asian locale. Now someone else may feel completely differently and they wouldn’t care as much about the accommodation if they got an opportunity to sit in a really desirable place.
What I have also found is that the most important thing to consider for me personally when choosing sits is what my day to day routine will be like. Again, if that is not in line with my preferences, etc…the location will not compensate for that.
I see sits all the time in locations I would like to visit but then there will be elements about the pets, their routine, the location and such that I know I probably wouldn’t want to deal with day in and day out for longer stretches.
I could probably go on and on but these are the main things I would say. Hope this helps and if you ever have any questions just message me.
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So very helpful and thoughtful response!
I do now work for myself so similar to your story that way… and similarly about evaluating house sits. I have ventured out of the US with THS yet. Have you?
In general, do you look for week plus long sits or ? And do you do Airbnb/Rv for in between time?
As it relates to states, I think those are correct but FL & TX have domicile/residency requirements.
Really appreciate you and your wisdom.
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