Anyone planning to ExpatFIRE too?

[elysianfields]

OP,

I'll be a slightly dissenting voice here.  If you're otherwise happy with your Vanguard account, it isn't clear to me that you need to switch just because you're planning to travel.  It sounds to me like you will be slow traveling around the world.  This is not the same as being an expatriate.  If you expatriate yourself, you might gain certain benefits (like the Foreign Earned Income exlusion), but you will also face disadvantages, like not being able to buy mutual funds (and a lot of US brokers not wanting to deal with you). 

If I understand correctly, you currently have no plan to establish residency in another country, you will have to pay California and Federal taxes on your earnings in the US, and you will probably return to the US once or twice a year.  Unless you see some reason you'd need very large amounts of money, I would guess that you should be able to get by with ATMs and credit cards from your US bank. 

What you might want to do is keep your banking with a separate institution from your investments.  In my experience, your bank really doesn't care if you spend much of your time overseas.  Your broker does care.  If you use the same institution for banking and investing, they may well notice that your banking is all taking place overseas and ask you to prove that you are not an expatriate.  If you do  your banking with a separate institution and keep a US address and phone number, your brokerage will never have any reason to even wonder about your status.

Hi @ROF Expat, good points.

Do you care to share which institutions you work with, how you handle the physical / mail address issue, and any problems you've run into?

I think you mention elsewhere that you use SDFCU - how are their ATM withdrawal costs?

[ROF Expat]

Hi @ROF Expat, good points.

Do you care to share which institutions you work with, how you handle the physical / mail address issue, and any problems you've run into?

I think you mention elsewhere that you use SDFCU - how are their ATM withdrawal costs?
[/quote]

@elysianfields

For banking, I use SDFCU, although I still have a USAA credit card.  SDFCU charges a 1% international surcharge for ATM transactions in addition to whatever the ATM owner charges.  I have an investment account with Schwab and could save that 1% and get my ATM fees reimbursed if I banked with Schwab, but I choose not to go that way for a couple of reasons.  First, most banks get nervous when they see a wire transfer, credit card charge, or an ATM withdrawal in the kinds of places I travel, where SDFCU generally takes these things in stride.  And when you need customer service, SDFCU is used to dealing with people overseas.  Also, in my experience, US banks really aren't overly concerned if you spend a lot of time overseas, or at least they don't seem to make a lot of effort to find out if their clientele is overseas.  Investment companies are a different story.  Many investment companies perceive a risk in serving expats and find it easier to just close their accounts.  I have personally seen a case where the investment company came to the person and basically said "your banking patterns indicate that you live overseas, so we're closing your account."  By separating banking and investing, there is no reason your investment company should even question your location. 

I continue to use the address of the house I own in the US as my address of record, but I use a family member's address as my mailing address.  I have never had a problem with this.  I get relatively little snail mail these days and the only thing that requires physical handling is my new ATM and credit cards every few years.  I find I can handle just about everything else from overseas by using my US phone # (I use Google FI) and my VPN.  I do have to work hard to be disciplined about watching dates on the calendar to proactively pay things like property tax since I might not see the physical bill in a timely fashion. 

Although I spend the vast majority of my time overseas, because I continue to pay (very substantial) state and federal taxes and  have not filed for any foreign income exclusions, and intend to return to the US to live at some point, I view myself as a US resident.

In my admittedly limited experience, when the investment company's algorithms decide that you might be an overseas resident, they have little interest in listening to your disagreement.  At that point, finding an investment company that will accept your account can be more difficult, especially if you are overseas.  At that point, your best bet is a smaller, investment advisor that specializes in expats.  Those smaller companies are willing to take on expat accounts and will create accounts that use ETFs as opposed to mutual funds, for example.  The downside is that they will charge you around 1% of your portfolio annually.  Personally, I would rather spend 1% on my ATM transactions than risk having to pay 1% of my portfolio annually. 

For anyone reading this:  I am not a lawyer or cpa and nothing I say should be taken as anything other than a personal opinion.  YMMV.  But this is the way I have operated for quite a while. 

[elysianfields]

Hi @ROF Expat, good points.

Do you care to share which institutions you work with, how you handle the physical / mail address issue, and any problems you've run into?

I think you mention elsewhere that you use SDFCU - how are their ATM withdrawal costs?

@elysianfields

For banking, I use SDFCU, although I still have a USAA credit card.  SDFCU charges a 1% international surcharge for ATM transactions in addition to whatever the ATM owner charges.  I have an investment account with Schwab and could save that 1% and get my ATM fees reimbursed if I banked with Schwab, but I choose not to go that way for a couple of reasons.  First, most banks get nervous when they see a wire transfer, credit card charge, or an ATM withdrawal in the kinds of places I travel, where SDFCU generally takes these things in stride.  And when you need customer service, SDFCU is used to dealing with people overseas.  Also, in my experience, US banks really aren't overly concerned if you spend a lot of time overseas, or at least they don't seem to make a lot of effort to find out if their clientele is overseas.  Investment companies are a different story.  Many investment companies perceive a risk in serving expats and find it easier to just close their accounts.  I have personally seen a case where the investment company came to the person and basically said "your banking patterns indicate that you live overseas, so we're closing your account."  By separating banking and investing, there is no reason your investment company should even question your location. 

I continue to use the address of the house I own in the US as my address of record, but I use a family member's address as my mailing address.  I have never had a problem with this.  I get relatively little snail mail these days and the only thing that requires physical handling is my new ATM and credit cards every few years.  I find I can handle just about everything else from overseas by using my US phone # (I use Google FI) and my VPN.  I do have to work hard to be disciplined about watching dates on the calendar to proactively pay things like property tax since I might not see the physical bill in a timely fashion. 

Although I spend the vast majority of my time overseas, because I continue to pay (very substantial) state and federal taxes and  have not filed for any foreign income exclusions, and intend to return to the US to live at some point, I view myself as a US resident.

In my admittedly limited experience, when the investment company's algorithms decide that you might be an overseas resident, they have little interest in listening to your disagreement.  At that point, finding an investment company that will accept your account can be more difficult, especially if you are overseas.  At that point, your best bet is a smaller, investment advisor that specializes in expats.  Those smaller companies are willing to take on expat accounts and will create accounts that use ETFs as opposed to mutual funds, for example.  The downside is that they will charge you around 1% of your portfolio annually.  Personally, I would rather spend 1% on my ATM transactions than risk having to pay 1% of my portfolio annually. 

For anyone reading this:  I am not a lawyer or cpa and nothing I say should be taken as anything other than a personal opinion.  YMMV.  But this is the way I have operated for quite a while.

Thanks, @ROF Expat , for the insights.

I hardly use SDFCU, though I have a safe deposit box with them.  I was looking for a way to avoid ATM fees and have them reimbursed; apparently their Privilege and Advantage Accounts offer this, but with somewhat difficult-to-complete conditions:

To earn dividends and $25.00 monthly ATM/Foreign Transaction (ISA) Fee Reimbursements for Privilege Accounts and to earn dividends and $15.00 monthly ATM/Foreign Transaction (ISA) Fee Reimbursement for Advantage Accounts: you must maintain a $25,000 and $2,000 minimum checking account balance, respectively, a minimum of $200 direct deposit monthly into the checking account, ten debit card transactions per month and be enrolled in SDFCU online banking and eStatements. Personal accounts only. (No organizational accounts). Dividends calculated daily.

Source: https://www.sdfcu.org/checking

For Schwab, I think keeping a US mailing and physical address would keep you out of trouble.  GoCurryCracker used Schwab as his bank account and the reimbursed ATM withdrawal fees most everywhere and didn't have any issues, the other posts I've seen about this seem to confirm that.  People seem to run into trouble when they update their Schwab account with a foreign address.

USAA charges a 1% international ATM fee.

Since you don't spend much time in the US, and "continue to pay (very substantial) state and federal taxes", have you considered changing your state of residence to one which doesn't tax income?  That could trigger the issues with mailing & physical addresses of course...

In any case, it seems that you've found a system that works for you, thanks for sharing it.

[MustacheAndaHalf]

For Schwab, I think keeping a US mailing and physical address would keep you out of trouble.  GoCurryCracker used Schwab as his bank account and the reimbursed ATM withdrawal fees most everywhere and didn't have any issues, the other posts I've seen about this seem to confirm that.  People seem to run into trouble when they update their Schwab account with a foreign address.

From experience, I think "U.S. banking" is the problem for U.S. Schwab accounts with a foreign address.  While living abroad, I signed up for a Schwab International account without a problem (but no ATM card or checking).

[ROF Expat]

For Schwab, I think keeping a US mailing and physical address would keep you out of trouble.  GoCurryCracker used Schwab as his bank account and the reimbursed ATM withdrawal fees most everywhere and didn't have any issues, the other posts I've seen about this seem to confirm that.  People seem to run into trouble when they update their Schwab account with a foreign address.

USAA charges a 1% international ATM fee.

Since you don't spend much time in the US, and "continue to pay (very substantial) state and federal taxes", have you considered changing your state of residence to one which doesn't tax income?  That could trigger the issues with mailing & physical addresses of course...

In any case, it seems that you've found a system that works for you, thanks for sharing it.

Keeping a US mailing and physical address might well be enough for Schwab, but having seen a brokerage account closed based on analysis of ATM and credit card use even with a US account address, I prefer to err on the side of caution and keep things separated.  Even though Schwab advertises itself as being expat friendly, they do have a history of closing some accounts.  You can find examples of Schwab and others doing this if you search the phrase schwab closing expat accounts or something similar. 

I don't find ATM fees to be all that significant an expense, but taxes are a very different matter.  The savings in income and property tax from selling my house in the HCOL DC area and changing my residence to a more tax friendly state clearly make that the financially optimum choice.  However, my wife and I love our US house.  We are keeping it because we like the DC area enough to consider retiring there, and if we sell our house, we would not be able to replace it with anything similar.  As long as we own the house, I don't think we can change our state of residence.  Ironically, by making rational financial decisions for a long time, we've been successful enough to make the (probably irrational) decision to keep the house and retire to a HCOL. 

 

[Villanelle]

For Schwab, I think keeping a US mailing and physical address would keep you out of trouble.  GoCurryCracker used Schwab as his bank account and the reimbursed ATM withdrawal fees most everywhere and didn't have any issues, the other posts I've seen about this seem to confirm that.  People seem to run into trouble when they update their Schwab account with a foreign address.

USAA charges a 1% international ATM fee.

Since you don't spend much time in the US, and "continue to pay (very substantial) state and federal taxes", have you considered changing your state of residence to one which doesn't tax income?  That could trigger the issues with mailing & physical addresses of course...

In any case, it seems that you've found a system that works for you, thanks for sharing it.

Keeping a US mailing and physical address might well be enough for Schwab, but having seen a brokerage account closed based on analysis of ATM and credit card use even with a US account address, I prefer to err on the side of caution and keep things separated.  Even though Schwab advertises itself as being expat friendly, they do have a history of closing some accounts.  You can find examples of Schwab and others doing this if you search the phrase schwab closing expat accounts or something similar. 

I don't find ATM fees to be all that significant an expense, but taxes are a very different matter.  The savings in income and property tax from selling my house in the HCOL DC area and changing my residence to a more tax friendly state clearly make that the financially optimum choice.  However, my wife and I love our US house.  We are keeping it because we like the DC area enough to consider retiring there, and if we sell our house, we would not be able to replace it with anything similar.  As long as we own the house, I don't think we can change our state of residence.  Ironically, by making rational financial decisions for a long time, we've been successful enough to make the (probably irrational) decision to keep the house and retire to a HCOL. 

 

Could you sign a lease on a room or cheap studio rental in another state, and perhaps spend some time there, and have that as your residence?  Plenty of people own a rental property in one state and reside in another, so it doesn't seem like just owning a house make it impossible to a resident elsewhere. 

[ROF Expat]

Could you sign a lease on a room or cheap studio rental in another state, and perhaps spend some time there, and have that as your residence?  Plenty of people own a rental property in one state and reside in another, so it doesn't seem like just owning a house make it impossible to a resident elsewhere.

@Villanelle 

That is a reasonable suggestion.  I could certainly try that, and it might well work.  I did this once in the past, but I didn't own any property at the time and thought I might well move to the other state permanently. 

If I didn't think I would ever move back into the house, changing residence would make more sense.  On the other hand, states have an interest in maintaining their tax base and some are known to look pretty hard at moves, especially when the taxes paid are substantial.  The state might question the bona fides of a move from a high-value home in the state in which I previously lived to a cheap studio rental.  And if I move back into that home, the state would have a very good case that my "residence" in the other state was never legitimate, potentially costing me a lot in back taxes, fines, and legal fees. 

FWIW, when my father moved from Virginia (a notoriously "sticky" state) to Florida, Virginia chased him for several years demanding back taxes and insisting that he was still a Virginia resident.  This was despite the fact that he sold his Virginia home and bought a home in Florida.  It is possible that I am letting a "sample of one" in this and seeing an investment account closed because of a banking relationship affect my decisions more than I should, but I tend to be risk averse about this sort of thing.         

[Goose]

Confirming Virginia as "sticky".  When I moved out I did not specifically notify them of my moving out - just got new license and plates at next state (SC).  I had moved around quite a bit by that time and never had to do that before and I said that.  Virginia response - put a warrant out on me.  Took me months to clean it up as I had to pay for another year of services and taxes to get the warrant dropped then officially notify them of my departure.

That was in 2001 - and I'm still pissed about it.

[MustacheAndaHalf]

California also likes to hold on to tax residents.  When I left California, I filed a "part year" state return.  The next year, I filed a "non-resident" tax return for the full year, essentially with all zeros because I wasn't a resident at all.  I also recall updating both my voter registration card and IRS 1040 to reflect my new, foreign address.

At least in California, they consider your ties to the state.
- Where do you visit doctors and dentists?
- How many days a year do you spend in the state?
- Do you have real estate there?  Car registered in that state?
- Where do you work, and where do kids go to school?

[Villanelle]

Could you sign a lease on a room or cheap studio rental in another state, and perhaps spend some time there, and have that as your residence?  Plenty of people own a rental property in one state and reside in another, so it doesn't seem like just owning a house make it impossible to a resident elsewhere.

For reasons other then keeping my CA residency I've wondered if I should keep my current rental even if travelling overseas longer term. Now adding the potential loss of residency here I'm wondering if it would be worth paying to do that. My main reason was to have a place to go back too if I needed to (illness or injury or just not liking the full time slow travel lifestyle anymore) since I dont really have family to fall back in an emergency except sister - who lives with her BF so not ideal. My landlords, married Feds who recently FIREd at 50, made me a very good offer if I extend my lease (which ends tomorrow) 6 more months and I'm deciding. I could sublet with their approval (I rent a small ADU backhouse next to their home) but I think I'd rather have the freedom to have it available if I need or want to return. I can aafford it but not sure.

IME, CA is not looking to remove residency from anyone.  They want you to be a resident because it means tax revenue for them.  So they aren't going to look for reasons to say you aren't a Californian.  It's hard to leave CA residency but very easy to stay. 

[reeshau]

Don't forget your driver's licence and voter registration.  While there is no definitive piece of evidence, those are things that, if they move, they have to move somewhere, rather than just dropping them.  (at least, in common terms:  a DL is also an ID, you even if you don't drive, you need an ID through the agency)

[uk_american1]

As a US citizen I have been working outside of the US for 20 years, here are the only speed bumps I encountered.

1. State taxes/driver's license - I had always planned for it to be a temporary thing when I went abroad in 2003, and it was the first few years but in 2009 I bought a flat in the UK and became a UK tax resident. I did not own a property in the US but my address for taxes and my driver's license was my aunt's house in Pennsylvania.

As I was out of the US for so long that year I no longer needed to file Pennsylvania taxes as a non-resident, only federal. For years I had been timing it right to renew my PA photo license every four years but it started to become a hassle as I kept getting called up for jury duty. My aunt helpfully called them up and they excused me but it got a little old after the 3rd call up. Then the PA tax authorities sent me a letter informing me that I missed to send in 2009 taxes. My accountant wrote up a 1 page note confirming that I was not liable for PA taxes as a non-resident. At that point I let my US license lapse as I had done the test for a UK license so at least I had a driver's license if I wanted to rent a car and I didn't want the hassle from the PA tax authorities. If I ever want to come back to the fine state of PA I will need to take the theory and driving tests again as they won't trade me for my UK license.

2. Some websites block traffic from outside of the US or want secondary security verification via a US number. I can only access my Prudential accounts from inside the US. Vanguard does the secondary phone check. I realize people can do VPN workarounds or have a US contact on standby to give you the phone codes etc. but it's extra steps to work through. My other accounts like my Fidelity 401ks and etrade banking are fine. My dinky hometown bank has the strictest online banking rules imaginable so I need my aunt on standby with them whenever I want to log on to get the phone code. My etrade bank is fine and I use them on the brokerage side to purchase Vanguard EFTs since I can't easily log in to Vanguard.

3. I use a wise card for banking across multiple currencies. It is not insured by a country like the US FDIC insured or the UK FSCS so I don't leave large sums of cash sitting in the account. My UK account is my main money maker so I'm either booking hotels via my UK card such as on a travel site like expedia and paying in GBP (so you could do similar from a US credit card) or I'm moving cash from a UK or US bank account into paypal. I like to move cash from my main bank accounts into wise to pay for things as I prefer to pay in local currency when possible for transparency, to not worry about exchange rates. It also ensures that my US banks etc. have no idea that I'm outside of the country.

[tj]

CA came after me for 2020 because I lived there in 2021 when I filed the previous year's return. 2021 was a part year CA return. After they were satisfied with 2020, they started asking me about 2021. I sent in my W-2 to prove wages for the two states, so hopefully they were satisfied.

[MustacheAndaHalf]

California also likes to hold on to tax residents.  When I left California, I filed a "part year" state return.  The next year, I filed a "non-resident" tax return for the full year, essentially with all zeros because I wasn't a resident at all.  I also recall updating both my voter registration card and IRS 1040 to reflect my new, foreign address.

At least in California, they consider your ties to the state.
- Where do you visit doctors and dentists?
- How many days a year do you spend in the state?
- Do you have real estate there?  Car registered in that state?
- Where do you work, and where do kids go to school?

Do you know if CA checks this kind of stuff? I don't have a big taxable income and still plan to keep my permanent residency in CA but will not have a residence here after tomorrow. I had just planned to use my sister's address to keep my residency here even if I rented a place longer term in another county. I plan to eventually move back to the US permanently, and don't plan to earn any money whike overseas so is there any reason I'd have to let the state know I'm gone?

I suppose you could keep filing CA tax forms and ignore residency.  Are you talking "tax residency" that I mentioned or something else? 

I found it helpful to have an online or virtual mailbox to receive mail (it gets scanned into PDF form).  And then your sister's place would be your permanent address, but she'd have less of your mail to deal with.

[elysianfields]

Don't forget your driver's licence and voter registration.  While there is no definitive piece of evidence, those are things that, if they move, they have to move somewhere, rather than just dropping them.  (at least, in common terms:  a DL is also an ID, you even if you don't drive, you need an ID through the agency)

I’m not a lawyer and don’t play one on TV, however, Google says that in one court case, a former NY resident escaped NYS income taxes by moving to FL, but continued to visit NYS from time to time.  However, the key indicator was… he moved his dog to Florida.

DL and voter registration are pretty low hurdles, so if you do things such as move your estate plan (esp. trusts), visit a dentist, join local organizations (e.g. churches) subscribe to local newspapers, move your safety deposit box, those provide much more commitment to one’s new state of residence.

[reeshau]

Don't forget your driver's licence and voter registration.  While there is no definitive piece of evidence, those are things that, if they move, they have to move somewhere, rather than just dropping them.  (at least, in common terms:  a DL is also an ID, you even if you don't drive, you need an ID through the agency)

I’m not a lawyer and don’t play one on TV, however, Google says that in one court case, a former NY resident escaped NYS income taxes by moving to FL, but continued to visit NYS from time to time.  However, the key indicator was… he moved his dog to Florida.

DL and voter registration are pretty low hurdles, so if you do things such as move your estate plan (esp. trusts), visit a dentist, join local organizations (e.g. churches) subscribe to local newspapers, move your safety deposit box, those provide much more commitment to one’s new state of residence.

Yes, the dog would be a case of the "teddy bear test," whether you move the personal items most precious to you.

Unfortunately, there is no hierarchy / hurdle rate / point system.  It is very ambiguous.  Which means if you want to be sure, you should do as much as you can.

To be clear, *not* moving your DL and voter registration, particularly if you have renewed them in your old state (I.e. not a few months; participated in an election) is strong evidence that you haven't moved.  For example, Texas allows you to drive on your out of state license for 90 days. Many people keep their old license and plates longer than that. (Particularly if they paid personal property tax on the plates--they want their money's worth??)  But they are risking their status by doing so.

[reeshau]

^^^This is interesting. What happens if someone leases a house for a year out of their home state but has no intention of living in that state longer then that? Will that mean you need to change all your documents like license and vehicle registration and be taxed in (possibly) both states? I've  thought of doing that in different places (in the US as well as abroad) since I've sold my Calif house but always planned to keep my perm residency here.

Those limits are under the heading "moving to Texas," so it's predicated on you asserting you live here.  There are plenty of snowbirds that spend more than 90 days here, just fine--which is probably why people can generally get away with it.

Abroad, though, is more serious--but not much more.  US citizens have 90 day visa-free travel to the EU.  (specifically, the Schengen area)  To stay longer, you do need a formal visa.  It's definitely allowed, but takes some forethought.  Just check those kind of rules wherever you will be going to.

There are other ways around it, too.  If you travelled outside Schengen during your stay, you can "touch base," and begin a new stay.  But, for example, you shouldn't technically have a single place rented that crosses those two stays.  And customs will ask you where you're staying, so they could see it's the same place.

[Kwill]

As a US citizen I have been working outside of the US for 20 years, here are the only speed bumps I encountered.
...2. Some websites block traffic from outside of the US or want secondary security verification via a US number. I can only access my Prudential accounts from inside the US. Vanguard does the secondary phone check. I realize people can do VPN workarounds or have a US contact on standby to give you the phone codes etc. but it's extra steps to work through. My other accounts like my Fidelity 401ks and etrade banking are fine. My dinky hometown bank has the strictest online banking rules imaginable so I need my aunt on standby with them whenever I want to log on to get the phone code. My etrade bank is fine and I use them on the brokerage side to purchase Vanguard EFTs since I can't easily log in to Vanguard.

I also came to the UK from the US for work. I've been in the UK 7 years now and have maintained my Vanguard account. I called and talked to someone there back in December 2015 before leaving, and I was told it would be no problem. I updated my address with them to my UK address but left my US mobile number until March 2022 when Republic Wireless phased out its old phones. I don't have a US phone number at all now, but Vanguard lets me use my UK number for two-factor authentication. There was one time when I couldn't use an online form and had to talk to someone because of the foreign address, but otherwise it has been fine. I've mostly left it alone because the different tax laws between the two countries make it tricky to invest.

Navy Federal Credit Union has been good for living overseas. Capital One 360 was a pain because all of their forms are set up to only deal with US addresses and phone numbers, so I gave that up.

[MustacheAndaHalf]

Capital One 360 was a pain because all of their forms are set up to only deal with US addresses and phone numbers, so I gave that up.

Just confirmed they still don't support international addresses.  I've been using a virtual mailbox to deal with companies like Capital One that lack support.

Both "virtual mailbox" and "anytime mailbox" have worked for me.

[reeshau]

Thanks! I knew about most of the EU restrictions (I started a thread awhile back asking about longer term travel in the EU and got lots of info) but really never thought about in terms of living in different states in the US. While I did lots of moves to different states when I was in the military,  those kinds of residency issues are exempt for active duty military. It's good to know about in case I do end up doing some longer stays in a rental outside of Calif. My EU plans (leaving the 11th woot!) are 3 months in the Schengen countries and then to the UK for awhile where I have dual citizenship. After that??????

One other thing I thought about, if you are planning to slow travel through the US.  I have yet to meet an ACA plan that covers outside your metro area, outside of emergency care. (I.e. ER only)  While I was used to considering travel health insurance when going international, I now get it when I am on longer trips in the US, too--especially if I am traveling with my son.

[tj]

Thanks! I knew about most of the EU restrictions (I started a thread awhile back asking about longer term travel in the EU and got lots of info) but really never thought about in terms of living in different states in the US. While I did lots of moves to different states when I was in the military,  those kinds of residency issues are exempt for active duty military. It's good to know about in case I do end up doing some longer stays in a rental outside of Calif. My EU plans (leaving the 11th woot!) are 3 months in the Schengen countries and then to the UK for awhile where I have dual citizenship. After that??????

One other thing I thought about, if you are planning to slow travel through the US.  I have yet to meet an ACA plan that covers outside your metro area, outside of emergency care. (I.e. ER only)  While I was used to considering travel health insurance when going international, I now get it when I am on longer trips in the US, too--especially if I am traveling with my son.

I've heard Florida has a nationwide PPO ACA plan - there's got to be others. If you are slow traveling and don't have a specific home base, you should look for a state that has such a plan.

[reeshau]

What do long term expat or travelers use if they don't have employer coverage? Most policies I looked at only covered 90 days and were fairly limited as to what countries they covered.

When I lived in Ireland, I had an "expat package" insurance from Chubb, which covered home, (renters, in our case) auto, and umbrella.  We had healthcare through work (common in Ireland to supplement the public system with private coverage, to get faster access to services) but I believe that's available, too.

[jim555]

I was researching how to do SMS verification from overseas.  Someone mentioned get a Ultra Paygo SIM from eBay for $13, activate it from the US, turn on WiFi.  $3 a month and would be able to 2FA from WiFi anywhere.  I have no personal experience with this method but maybe someone can test this out.

[Alternatepriorities]

Confirming Virginia as "sticky".  When I moved out I did not specifically notify them of my moving out - just got new license and plates at next state (SC).  I had moved around quite a bit by that time and never had to do that before and I said that.  Virginia response - put a warrant out on me.  Took me months to clean it up as I had to pay for another year of services and taxes to get the warrant dropped then officially notify them of my departure.

That was in 2001 - and I'm still pissed about it.

California also likes to hold on to tax residents.  When I left California, I filed a "part year" state return.  The next year, I filed a "non-resident" tax return for the full year, essentially with all zeros because I wasn't a resident at all.  I also recall updating both my voter registration card and IRS 1040 to reflect my new, foreign address.

At least in California, they consider your ties to the state.
- Where do you visit doctors and dentists?
- How many days a year do you spend in the state?
- Do you have real estate there?  Car registered in that state?
- Where do you work, and where do kids go to school?

This is wild! In Alaska they make us prove that we are a resident rather than proving when we leave... You start loosing residency benefits when you're traveling for more than 180 days a year, or if you buy property elsewhere, or work elsewhere...

[reeshau]

I was researching how to do SMS verification from overseas.  Someone mentioned get a Ultra Paygo SIM from eBay for $13, activate it from the US, turn on WiFi.  $3 a month and would be able to 2FA from WiFi anywhere.  I have no personal experience with this method but maybe someone can test this out.

I'm sure it could work.  I used a software-only solution (iplum) and had no problems, for 2 years.

[jeroly]

US citizen, single, no kids, investment property will be paid off with family members who will manage/live on site, with 1-2 units rented- 1 rental covers tax/insurance/utilities/small repairs. 
 

In my opinion, single and no kid are two important criteria for that kind of life style. I just came back from a month long trip to SE Aisa, I can visualize living there long term as a single and no kid person on $2~3k per month.

I'm surprised that it costs that much. That's about what I spend in the US. Would I have a higher standard of living over there?

Yes. I was talking about living in a big city like Bangkok with all the activities. You could eat cheap and good food at a restaurant for $2.

As someone who loathes cooking, that is quite appealing. I think Bangkok might be too busy for me. I don't care about bars, partying, etc.

I know an ex-pat who has settled down with his (younger) family in Hua Hin and it looks very relaxed with good food and beach / pool options, and at the same time close enough to Bangkok to be able to go there when desired (good and cheap temporary housing options, e.g. AirBnb & hotels, available in Bangkok).  Per Trip.Com, Hua Hin is the summertime retreat destination of the Thai Royal Family and I believe that it has less of a 'bars, partying, etc.' vibe.

Thailand has some retirement visa options IIRC but I do know that there are a large number of folks who live there that do visa runs on a regular basis to renew 90 day tourist visas.  I don't know why! Maybe the longer-term and/or retirement visa options have onerous conditions or are expensive or require enormous deposits in Thai institutions.

When I was originally planning to FIRE in the '90s, I was open to a possible plan of moving to Thailand, but relationships and situations led me to different planetary coordinates. I love it though, and look forward to returning soon!

[Kwill]

I was researching how to do SMS verification from overseas.  Someone mentioned get a Ultra Paygo SIM from eBay for $13, activate it from the US, turn on WiFi.  $3 a month and would be able to 2FA from WiFi anywhere.  I have no personal experience with this method but maybe someone can test this out.

I'm sure it could work.  I used a software-only solution (iplum) and had no problems, for 2 years.

I imagine that would work. I used Republic Wireless on WiFi only overseas for over 6 years and had very few problems. Still a bit sad about the fact that they made my phone defunct and got rid of the $5 per month WiFi only option last year. If they'd let us know that was planned, then I could have replaced the phone over Christmas when I was in the States or something like that, but as it was, I just let go of the number, went down to one phone, closed the CapitalOne360 account, and switched to my UK number for 2-factor authentication elsewhere.

Since losing my US number last spring, I've had to get help from relatives in the States with phones twice -- once when doing US taxes and once when ordering transcripts. There are just a few online forms that won't cooperate with non-US numbers, but hopefully that will get better over time.

It used to be that Skype numbers couldn't receive text messages, but I think that has changed. Maybe that would be one option.

[jim555]

Just a reminder -
California, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington, D.C. have state level Individual Mandates for health coverage or face a fine.  The Federal fine was set to $0 in 2017.  Something to consider for potential expats.

[ca-rn]

Just a reminder -
California, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington, D.C. have state level Individual Mandates for health coverage or face a fine.  The Federal fine was set to $0 in 2017.  Something to consider for potential expats.

UGH!  I did not know that!  So even if I'm out of CA for the whole year, I still need to buy healthcare insurance? 

[reeshau]

Not official government info, but an FAQ from a website for California[-based insurance brokers:

Here is a short list of FAQs to help you and your clients understand the basics of expat coverage and ACA:

1. Are U.S. citizens living outside the U.S. affected by the ACA? You are exempt from ACA rules if you live outside the U.S. for 330 days or more per calendar year. You meet ACA requirements if you are covered by an expatriate group plan purchased in the U.S. by your employer. Certain rules apply if you don’t fall into either of these categories. (See below).

[BicycleB]

Not official government info, but an FAQ from a website for California[-based insurance brokers:

Here is a short list of FAQs to help you and your clients understand the basics of expat coverage and ACA:

1. Are U.S. citizens living outside the U.S. affected by the ACA? You are exempt from ACA rules if you live outside the U.S. for 330 days or more per calendar year. You meet ACA requirements if you are covered by an expatriate group plan purchased in the U.S. by your employer. Certain rules apply if you don’t fall into either of these categories. (See below).

What ACA rules are these? Are these in effect now, or were these the old rules for having insurance that in recent years have been invalidated?

I have dropped and re-obtained ACA in less than 330 days after foreign travel. I'm no expert and may have made mistakes, but dropped my ACA the day after I left US soil (notified them ahead of time when to terminate coverage), traveled 4 months and activated a US-based health care policy with coverage including the day of my return. I think you can deactivate ACA when you leave and re-initiate it, with due planning, for the month of your return. I did change addresses upon returning. My reasons for deactivating and reactivating were each that I had changed location - I went from Texas, to Colombia, to the Land of Lincoln.

Strictly speaking, I did not have ACA reactivate on the day of my return. Due to failure to plan ahead properly, I ended up getting a non-ACA private policy for a few weeks while waiting for the date ACA would reactivate. From experience, no matter what day you process your ACA application, coverage won't start until the following month. I got the private insurance briefly while waiting for ACA to start. In any case "change in residence" is a "qualifying life event" for purposes of qualifying for ACA coverage:

https://www.healthcare.gov/glossary/qualifying-life-event/

It's true the wording on healthcare.gov refers to moving to a "new address or county", not "country." I suspect the statute assumed enrollees lived consistently in the US. However, I suspect the statute does not exclude people who moved from a foreign address as long as they do qualify (for example, US citizen moving to US address).

The possible glitch I found was that the online forms ask about your previous insurance coverage. If you got travelers' insurance, maybe that would work. I didn't get any for that trip, but somehow filled out the form without specifying previous insurance. If the form were to be tightened, maybe I would have had trouble. But getting ACA after traveling less than 330 days worked ok as far as I can tell (did not actually use insurance, but received insurance docs).

Currently planning to begin a year of expat life (mostly living in Colombia) starting in July. Will be searching for travelers' health insurance soon, specifically policies that meet Colombia's health care requirements for foreigners that I didn't know about previously.

[dang1]

I was researching how to do SMS verification from overseas.  Someone mentioned get a Ultra Paygo SIM from eBay for $13, activate it from the US, turn on WiFi.  $3 a month and would be able to 2FA from WiFi anywhere.  I have no personal experience with this method but maybe someone can test this out.

I'm sure it could work.  I used a software-only solution (iplum) and had no problems, for 2 years.

..
It used to be that Skype numbers couldn't receive text messages, but I think that has changed. Maybe that would be one option.

"using a Skype number to receive SMS authentication code is not yet supported"
https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/skype/forum/all/using-skype-number-for-2fa/50b437d6-b5c0-443a-a11b-f1e35ad653f3


consider verizon prepaid Talk & Text $35 /mo https://www.verizon.com/plans/prepaid/#tab-section
use Verizon Messages (Message+) - on Web browser https://www.verizon.com/support/knowledge-base-94861/
https://www.verizon.com/support/verizon-messages-faqs/

[Kwill]

"using a Skype number to receive SMS authentication code is not yet supported"
https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/skype/forum/all/using-skype-number-for-2fa/50b437d6-b5c0-443a-a11b-f1e35ad653f3


consider verizon prepaid Talk & Text $35 /mo https://www.verizon.com/plans/prepaid/#tab-section
use Verizon Messages (Message+) - on Web browser https://www.verizon.com/support/knowledge-base-94861/
https://www.verizon.com/support/verizon-messages-faqs/

It's not clear that Verizon Messages would support verification codes. They aren't mentioned in the description or FAQs.

I haven't tried using my Skype number for verification purposes. For now I still have the UK phone for that. I'm moving to the US this summer, and then I will try to port the Skype number to a regular phone.

[reeshau]

What ACA rules are these? Are these in effect now, or were these the old rules for having insurance that in recent years have been invalidated?

The requirement is still there, and it's checked on your 1040.  It's the Federal penalty that has been reduced to zero.  And so, could come back.  Also, some states have their own penalty, that is independently enforced.  OP lives in California, which is one of those states.

From experience, no matter what day you process your ACA application, coverage won't start until the following month.

If you apply before the 15th of the month, it is the following month.  If you apply after the 15th, it's the second month following.

[mjb]

"using a Skype number to receive SMS authentication code is not yet supported"
https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/skype/forum/all/using-skype-number-for-2fa/50b437d6-b5c0-443a-a11b-f1e35ad653f3


consider verizon prepaid Talk & Text $35 /mo https://www.verizon.com/plans/prepaid/#tab-section
use Verizon Messages (Message+) - on Web browser https://www.verizon.com/support/knowledge-base-94861/
https://www.verizon.com/support/verizon-messages-faqs/

It's not clear that Verizon Messages would support verification codes. They aren't mentioned in the description or FAQs.

I haven't tried using my Skype number for verification purposes. For now I still have the UK phone for that. I'm moving to the US this summer, and then I will try to port the Skype number to a regular phone.

Not sure if this is helpful as I'm US-based, but this is what my wife and I do when we're in Mexico (where we live part-time, and will eventually live mostly-full-time):

• For SMS/calls to our US numbers: our US mobile carrier is Mint, which runs on the T-Mobile network. I buy a $5 "International" package that lets me send/receive SMS and make/receive calls from our US number, anywhere in the world.
  
  
• For data: we use a local SIM (TELCEL) here in Mexico, or buy an eSIM from Airalo or DENT if we're elsewhere. (The local SIM is generally super-fast compared to eSIMs, and has the added bonus of giving you a local phone number which can come in handy when ordering take-out or dealing with local businesses.)
  
  
• When traveling, we configure our iPhones to use Mint for Voice and SMS, and the local SIM or eSIM for data.

This setup works great, is super-affordable, and doesn't require new workflows for calls/texting like Google Voice would. Plus our US numbers still work, hassle-free, with iMessage/iOS/FaceTime, which make up the vast majority of our communications. SMS messages to our US numbers are delivered normally, so no problems with banks/other 2FA situations.

For any messaging that involves non-iOS users we use WhatsApp (or, preferably, Signal, but WhatsApp is the de-facto communication protocol for most of the ex-US world). If the non-iOS user has a problem with WhatsApp or Signal they're probably not great at texting anyway. (My mom, for instance, will only use Facebook Messenger...)

As for Google Voice, I really like it in theory but based on past experience I can't trust Google to keep any service alive long enough to bet the house on it.

[BicycleB]

What ACA rules are these? Are these in effect now, or were these the old rules for having insurance that in recent years have been invalidated?

The requirement is still there, and it's checked on your 1040.  It's the Federal penalty that has been reduced to zero.  And so, could come back.  Also, some states have their own penalty, that is independently enforced.  OP lives in California, which is one of those states.

From experience, no matter what day you process your ACA application, coverage won't start until the following month.

If you apply before the 15th of the month, it is the following month.  If you apply after the 15th, it's the second month following.

Oh, that's interesting. Very informative. Thanks, @reeshau!

[reeshau]

Oh, that's interesting. Very informative. Thanks, @reeshau!

Happy to pass along things learned in the school of hard knocks!

[dang1]

"using a Skype number to receive SMS authentication code is not yet supported"
https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/skype/forum/all/using-skype-number-for-2fa/50b437d6-b5c0-443a-a11b-f1e35ad653f3


consider verizon prepaid Talk & Text $35 /mo https://www.verizon.com/plans/prepaid/#tab-section
use Verizon Messages (Message+) - on Web browser https://www.verizon.com/support/knowledge-base-94861/
https://www.verizon.com/support/verizon-messages-faqs/

It's not clear that Verizon Messages would support verification codes. They aren't mentioned in the description or FAQs.

I haven't tried using my Skype number for verification purposes. For now I still have the UK phone for that. I'm moving to the US this summer, and then I will try to port the Skype number to a regular phone.

Pls let us know how Skype number works out for verification.

My experience:
Works w/ voice over IP #’s - Textnow and Google Voice: Vanguard, Fidelity, Mint, BofA, Citi, Venmo, Paypal, WhatsApp, Telegram, FB, Signal (lol)


Won’t accept voip #’s- I have to use my VZW or ATT #s: Wells Fargo, Chase, Cash app

Verizon Messages enables sms w/ your VZW # also thru browser. I log on to my Verizon’s account on my computer’s browser’s (not on my phone) and do sms (with yay! keyboard and large screen), like this guy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lcSPu7WTGHY&ab_channel=zanewoodson

ATT doesn't do sms on browser.

Tmob's thru https://digits.t-mobile.com/#/ , but plans look more expensive than VZW:
https://www.t-mobile.com/cell-phone-plans?INTNAV=tNav:Plans:Magenta
Essentials Savings $50 /mo.

I haven’t seen any mvno do browser sms

[dang1]

..
As for Google Voice, I really like it in theory but based on past experience I can't trust Google to keep any service alive long enough to bet the house on it.

I started using GV, (because while my VZW plans is, unlimited voice: 0 mins used, I use GV for calls; grandfathered data: 146 GB used, last cycle, it’s pay-per-sms, lol)
in the late 2000's, so far so good.

I suppose, if it shuts down, hopefully textnow stays around

on those articles, the only Google services that I used were Reader - replaced by Inoreader, and Hangouts- seems like only name changed to Google Chat, since conversations on Hangouts show up in Chat.
But yeah, I comm on FB Messenger the most

[lutorm]

My understanding is that Fidelity has no problem with you living outside the US, but some services will not be available. (You can only invest in ETFs, not mutual funds. But this seems to be some US rule, not Fidelity.) You can't open an account as a nonresident, though. This is at least what Fidelity CS told me when I told them we're moving to Sweden. We haven't moved yet, so remains to be seen if they told the truth...

[FLBiker]

My understanding is that Fidelity has no problem with you living outside the US, but some services will not be available. (You can only invest in ETFs, not mutual funds. But this seems to be some US rule, not Fidelity.) You can't open an account as a nonresident, though. This is at least what Fidelity CS told me when I told them we're moving to Sweden. We haven't moved yet, so remains to be seen if they told the truth...

I can tell you that, as a US citizen living in Canada, Fidelity is happy to hold retirement accounts.  They would also let my wife open a new retirement account as a Canadian resident, since she already had one (in other words, she had a Roth IRA and could open a traditional IRA).  We didn't have our non-retirement account with them, but if memory serves they wouldn't let us hold it there.  Maybe we could have kept it but not traded in it?  Regardless, we use a Canadian brokerage that lets us hold US ETFs.

[TexasAnnie]

My understanding is that Fidelity has no problem with you living outside the US, but some services will not be available. (You can only invest in ETFs, not mutual funds. But this seems to be some US rule, not Fidelity.)

There are laws around reporting non-US income (FBAR, FACTA) and a lot of brokerages don’t want to deal with those reporting (compliance) requirements.

Also US taxes on certain foreign investments (foreign mutual funds) make them untenable.

- (No-longer-in-Texas) Annie

[Kwill]

"using a Skype number to receive SMS authentication code is not yet supported"
https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/skype/forum/all/using-skype-number-for-2fa/50b437d6-b5c0-443a-a11b-f1e35ad653f3

...

...I haven't tried using my Skype number for verification purposes. For now I still have the UK phone for that. I'm moving to the US this summer, and then I will try to port the Skype number to a regular phone.

Pls let us know how Skype number works out for verification.
...

I can now update on my Skype number. It worked for two-factor authentication. I got numbers via text for my credit union, Walmart.com, Amazon.com, Apple ID, and the NHS.

I was able to port the Skype number to an actual phone, and the Skype number subscription was automatically cancelled when that completed. A Consumer Cellular representative initiated the transfer for me after some Googling for what to do. I think she said the user name was the phone number and the PIN was 0000. The number transfer took a long time. I bought the phone Friday afternoon, and the transfer finally completed Monday night. Over the weekend, there was a point when I could make outgoing calls but not texts, and incoming calls were coming only via Skype. I was afraid I'd made a terrible mistake.

The benefit of signing up for a local number while still overseas is that I was able to provide a US contact number on my leasing application, sign the lease from the UK, and move into an apartment within a few days of arrival in the US. My sister vetted the place for me. I was also able to provide a US number to my new boss, and I could update various accounts with a US phone number before actually arriving. I think that made things smoother.

[BicycleB]

"using a Skype number to receive SMS authentication code is not yet supported"
https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/skype/forum/all/using-skype-number-for-2fa/50b437d6-b5c0-443a-a11b-f1e35ad653f3

...

...I haven't tried using my Skype number for verification purposes. For now I still have the UK phone for that. I'm moving to the US this summer, and then I will try to port the Skype number to a regular phone.

Pls let us know how Skype number works out for verification.
...

I can now update on my Skype number. It worked for two-factor authentication. I got numbers via text for my credit union, Walmart.com, Amazon.com, Apple ID, and the NHS.

I was able to port the Skype number to an actual phone, and the Skype number subscription was automatically cancelled when that completed. A Consumer Cellular representative initiated the transfer for me after some Googling for what to do. I think she said the user name was the phone number and the PIN was 0000. The number transfer took a long time. I bought the phone Friday afternoon, and the transfer finally completed Monday night. Over the weekend, there was a point when I could make outgoing calls but not texts, and incoming calls were coming only via Skype. I was afraid I'd made a terrible mistake.

The benefit of signing up for a local number while still overseas is that I was able to provide a US contact number on my leasing application, sign the lease from the UK, and move into an apartment within a few days of arrival in the US. My sister vetted the place for me. I was also able to provide a US number to my new boss, and I could update various accounts with a US phone number before actually arriving. I think that made things smoother.

Very informative followup, @Kwill

[baludon]

"using a Skype number to receive SMS authentication code is not yet supported"
https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/skype/forum/all/using-skype-number-for-2fa/50b437d6-b5c0-443a-a11b-f1e35ad653f3

...

...I haven't tried using my Skype number for verification purposes. For now I still have the UK phone for that. I'm moving to the US this summer, and then I will try to port the Skype number to a regular phone.

Pls let us know how Skype number works out for verification.
...

I can now update on my Skype number. It worked for two-factor authentication. I got numbers via text for my credit union, Walmart.com, Amazon.com, Apple ID, and the NHS.

I was able to port the Skype number to an actual phone, and the Skype number subscription was automatically cancelled when that completed. A Consumer Cellular representative initiated the transfer for me after some Googling for what to do. I think she said the user name was the phone number and the PIN was 0000. The number transfer took a long time. I bought the phone Friday afternoon, and the transfer finally completed Monday night. Over the weekend, there was a point when I could make outgoing calls but not texts, and incoming calls were coming only via Skype. I was afraid I'd made a terrible mistake.

The benefit of signing up for a local number while still overseas is that I was able to provide a US contact number on my leasing application, sign the lease from the UK, and move into an apartment within a few days of arrival in the US. My sister vetted the place for me. I was also able to provide a US number to my new boss, and I could update various accounts with a US phone number before actually arriving. I think that made things smoother.

I use prepaid T-Mobile that I pay $17.60 a month.  SMS from the US works well with it overseas with wifi calling and a local e-sim for data.  It’s a backup to Google voice as some of my online accounts do not like to send texts to GV.

For ATM withdrawals overseas I use my Schwab debit card and get the fees reimbursed.

[Kwill]

I can now update on my Skype number. ...

Very informative followup, @Kwill

You're welcome. I guess this is more re-pat info than expat info, but maybe having a backup plan of how to return to the US may be useful for someone thinking of leaving for FIRE or work.