This is not as tough as you think it might be. But it can get expensive so if you have someone near home that you can trust to do what I’m about to tell you for free, that would be a much better deal. For me, that’s my brother and I don’t trust him to do anything unless it benefits him somehow. But that’s a whole other story that I’m not going to tell until it’s over. Which should not be too much longer.
The answer is virtual mailboxes. There are many companies that do this and each one has it’s specific set of features.
This is what I do: I have several boxes each in strategic locations, just in case there is something that I need to go pick up I can have it sent to one that is close to me. Now, you can always have them ship the letters / packages to you, but I have found out that it is much easier to just give the campground address for things that you expect quickly. These mail services can get quite expensive.
Most of them offer the following:
- a physical address (not just a PO Box)
- scanning
- shredding
- shipping
- some offer check cashing (but I have deposited checks with a scan)
- some will offer mail sending services
There are some potential speed bumps:
In Texas, they make if very difficult to get a driver’s license if you don’t have a permanent, physical, residential address. The mailing services come up as business addresses and that just don’t fly in Texas. They also require 3 pieces of evidence of a permanent physical address so that means finding one, changing enough bills/bank statements to the same EXACT address (God forbid one is missing a unit number) and having a passport/birth certificate and some other picture proof ID. It took me 6 trips to actually get a freaking license. But I digress.
So, in short: Put a forwarding order in at you local post office to your virtual mailing address. When you get something, have them scan it. It’s not really that hard. I’ve been happy with iPostal1. Use this link to set up your account for a special price!