Three US states realistically work as a residency base for full-time travelers: Texas, Florida, South Dakota. The actual requirements, mail-forwarding setups, and tax-filing implications.
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All three have no state income tax, accept mail-forwarding addresses for residency purposes, and have established systems for travelers. The differences are in vehicle registration, voter rules, jury duty, and how easily a mail-forwarder address survives scrutiny.
Mail forwarding, voter registration, vehicle registration, driver license. Most public guides recommend doing them in that order — see mail forwarding services for the practical comparisons.
State residency does not change your federal tax obligations as a US citizen. The Foreign Earned Income Exclusion (FEIE) and Foreign Tax Credit (FTC) operate at the federal level regardless of state. State residency choice is about avoiding state income tax, not federal.
State residency settles your tax address. It does not solve your health insurance — most US-domestic plans stop covering you the moment you leave the country, regardless of which state issued the policy. The most-cited nomad-targeted alternative in our research is SafetyWing — monthly subscription, no fixed end date, designed for full-time travelers. Pair it with the residency setup above and the logistics side is largely done.
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