How to become residents of Texas so you can RV full-time!

Trent will be your driver for this post.

We chose to become residents of Texas after a bunch of research. Technomadia has a good blog post about choices and keeps it up-to-date. In summary, people who decide to become full-time RVers generally choose between Texas, Florida, and South Dakota if they don't stick with their home state. We picked Texas because given those three choices we would rather end up in Texas.

This is our step-by-step guide to getting Texas residency. We did steps 2-6 in a day and quarter.

1) Sign up for the Escapees Mail Forwarding Service.
This gives you a Texas address to use on official paperwork.

2) Take your RV to Livingston, TX.
Stay at the Escapees park (where we are right now with a good Verizon signal). You can complete these steps elsewhere in Texas but Livingston is an RV friendly town and state agencies here are used to dealing with full-timers. This makes everything easier.

3) Visit a local insurance agent
Get your insurance transferred to Texas or sign up for Texas insurance for your RV and towed vehicle. We used State Farm* since have been with them for a long time. The important part here is getting the paperwork showing you have the required insurance coverage for Texas on any vehicles you need to get plates for and the insurance paper work showing your Livingston address counts as one of the two pieces of paperwork needed to prove residency.

(*State Farm will not issue new policies for full-time RVers but if you are an existing customer with RV coverage you can transfer to Texas and keep your coverage.)

4) Get your vehicle state inspected. 

Bring your insurance paper work because it's required at the time of inspection.  This costs a total $5 per vehicle. We used Soda Auto at 6709 U.S. 190, Livingston, TX 77351 at the suggestion of the Escapees club and suggest you do, too. A single guy appears to run that somewhat rundown place but he is a member of Escapees and was extremely easy to work with. The inspection takes less than 10 minutes (maybe 5). We didn't even have to take the cat out of the RV. It was super easy and he later installed our plates for free (he needed to drill holes in front of the car) in exchange for a plate for his wall.

5) Know your GVWR and UVWR (or CW). 
The GVWR is probably posted in a plaque inside your driver's side door of your motorhome (I don't know where it would be in a 5th wheel). You will need to print or email a copy of this photo to the tax collection agency (the next step). We didn't know this ahead of time but I had taken pictures of every plaque in/on/under the RV and so was able to email the photo from iCloud as we were in the office.  They don't require proof of the UVWR or CW (I think they used a different abbreviation here - basically they want the unloaded weight).

6) Visit the local Texas Tax office to get your plates (M-F 8:00am - 4:30pm)
In Livingston the office is at 416 N. Washington Ave.  Take your insurance paperwork, state inspection paperwork, a check (or lots of cash - our cost was $438 for the RV and car), a passport, your loan(s) lien holder name and address, and registration paperwork from your old state. You will need to fill out a form. As stated above, you will need to print or email a photo of the GVWR plaque and know the unloaded vehicle weight. Pay your fee and get the plates and texas registration. The registration paper counts as your second proof of residency.

You don't have to have the passport as there are alternatives listed but having that makes it easier.

7) Visit the Driver's License office of the Department of Motor Vehicles (M-F 8:500)
at 1737 N Washington Avenue, Livingston, TX 77351.  It's across a parking lot from the police station. Take your passport, SS card, current driver's license, car/RV registration (1st form of residency and otherwise required to have), and your insurance forms (2nd form of residency and otherwise required to have).  You do not have to take a driver's test - just an easy eye test. I wear glasses for reading and was able to pass it no problem.

8) Have a drink
You are now a Texan - or as Susanne would say, a "Fexan" (a Fake Texan).

On the Road, Day 2

We ended up leaving yesterday after all. Good thing, as most of our stuff was cleaned up, stocked away, and ready to go. We were eager to get on the road.

 

Our first stop on this journey (to nowhere in particular) is a four-day visit to the Mammoth Caves area of central Kentucky. We're at a lovely campground with full hookups (water, sewer, electricity), a swimming pool, laundry, etc. We've already met some of our neighbors, stocked up at the local IGA, run on the roads and trails surrounding the camp, and made some meals in our handy InstantPot (although my first attempt ended with me forgetting about it and leaving it outside in the pouring rain - it was fine, and the meal was delicious!)

 

We're using the next few weeks to learn more about Clark and his quirks - one being that his shower does not work properly - and decompress. I don't know about Trent, but for me, transitioning to this kind of lifestyle is going to take some adjustment. I typically like to have lists full of tasks that I can check off and feel proud of accomplishing. This way of life will also involve many tasks - lots of cleaning, lots of repairing and maintaining, lots of cooking, lots of working with my son - but without a traditional job, I know that I'll likely be a bit lost for a while.

I hope I can give myself the space to make that transition without judging myself. To help myself do that, I plan to do a lot of working out (running and Piyo), journaling, cooking, blogging, Instagramming, and seeing the sights. These are all things I love and that feel familiar and happy to me. 

 

On a totally different note: for the Biscuit fans out there, she seems to be doing really well. She loves all the vertical opportunities in the RV and enjoys climbing from the couch to the bunk and then down to the table and then back to the bed... She was a little freaked out when we first arrived, but now she's in full I Am The Queen Of My Domain mode.

 

"Put the phone down, human. You're embarrassing yourself once again." -Biscuit McDowell in a judgmental moment

We're leaving TOMORROW! Maybe! Or maybe not.

Our plan is to leave tomorrow, but we're waiting for a critical Internet-related package, so we may or may not head out then. We've already pushed back one of our campground reservations in Tennessee just in case. We figure we might want to take our time getting there anyway. 

Today was an interesting combination of busyness, fun, and relaxation.

We woke up in the RV, which is currently parked in the driveway. Here's Sam demonstrating how the over-cab bunk is supposed to work:

He loves that space. It's entirely his own and he's excited about organizing it as he sees fit.

We made huge progress in cleaning out our house. Two rooms are entirely empty, a third contains only the items we plan to drop off and store at my parents' house, the kitchen is less of a disaster than it was yesterday, and the family room now houses only the stuff that we haven't moved to the RV yet.

Biscuit freaked out at all the emptiness and spent hours hiding behind the toilet; to make her more comfortable (and bathroom use a little more private), we created a cat fort out of a folding chair and towels:

We finished cleaning out my office and turned in my keys:

And then we had some time for making a delicious dinner and playing Try-To-Spray-Me-With-The-Water-Hose-Good-Luck-I-Have-A-Moldy-Umbrella:

We're in a little bit of hurry-up-and-wait mode, but it's fine. At this point, what's the rush?

Two days to go, and here's where we're at...

Major furniture recycled or rehomed: CHECK.

Messy house achievement: UNLOCKED.

That's salt all over the counter. I had a little salt grinder accident at lunchtime.

Even the resident ants took part in the mess-tivities:

(This is a good time to be an ant in this house: there are plenty of snacks, and at this point we're too lazy to try to get rid of them.)

By late this afternoon, we'd made some progress in terms of getting items out of the house and into the RV. At least the kitchen is starting to look a little emptier and less frenetic.

Take away message: Moving is never fun - regardless of whether you're moving into a new house or a tin can on wheels.