The Problem of Homelessness

Here's a question about the nomadic lifestyle that, until recently, had me completely flummoxed: How can you be an active member of society without a permanent address? I mean, think of all the modern institutions that require you to provide an address! If I vacate my apartment, what do I do?

Consider credit cards. You need a billing address. Not an email address -- a good old fashioned snail mail address. Why? When was the last time a rep from Visa or Mastercard actually payed you a house call? Physical addresses are passe, and yet you need one to have a credit card. It's a case where infrastructure hasn't caught up with technology.

Same thing for your driver's license. And your voter's registration. Want to start a business? It needs an address, too. And on and on.

There are plenty of solutions to this problem. One is to just get a PO box. But that usually requires you to physically come and pick up your mail ... not an option if you're off being a nomad somewhere. Also, services like UPS and FedEx won't deliver packages to PO boxes.

Another possibility is to sign up for an international mail forwarding solution like Wanderers'. You give out Wanderers' address as yours (on your credit cards, drivers license, voters' registeration, etc.), they receive all your mail and forward it to you wherever you are. You could also get a CPA to do this for you.

That is sufficient, but an experienced nomad tipped me off to something way better. Check out Earth Class Mail. They give you your own street address in one of several different cities (including Seattle). They receive all your mail, scan all the envelopes and put images on a website that you can access securely. Then you can tell them to shred or recycle the junk, or securely open the mail for you, scan its contents and email it to you as a pdf! Whoa. Then they could file the original for you, or forward it to you or your CPA. They'll even deposit checks for you if you give them permission. It's a digital nomad's dream. The service is surprisingly cheap. I wish I knew about this years ago.

I signed up last week and got my new address. Today I got a message that they processed my Postal Consent Form and my address is now active. Huzzah! That's one less tether tying me down.