New Mexico Residency

ZurdoBA said:

New Mexico follows California emissions standards so they require inspection every other year also.
I lived in Mississippi for work in 2004 & 2005 and was absolutely shocked at the registration fee. I kept my registration as Michigan and never got pulled over. In Michigan, it is high (c. $210/yr) but not nearly as high as MS. In MI, we call it the “Birthday Tax”!

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I do believe, as slow2day mentions, the emissions check is only for the Albuquerque area.

For a state with the highest poverty in the entire U.S. Mississippi's taxes don't provide any breaks for its citizens, even of lower income. (Except that they can't afford an expensive car) They even charge fairly high sales taxes on groceries. Property taxes are relatively low as they provide very little in the way of public services and have been negligent in properly funding public education ever since the integration of public schools started in the 1970s.

slow2day said:

Check with DMV if you can use a separate mailing address. Four years ago I considered NM residency but couldn't find a decent mailing service. Which one do you use?

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NM does allow having a separate mailing address from the residency but I’m hoping to change my residence address. I didn’t want to keep the RV park as my residence because I won’t be living there after this month.
I’m using the mail service at Staples. It is run by iPostal1. I used Anytime Mailbox for a few years but had too many issues with them so I changed when I moved to NM. I haven’t received any actual mail at the new iPostal1 box yet so I’m not sure how well they do yet.

slow2day said:

Only Bernalillo County (Albuquerque) requires emissions testing.

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I thought it was state wide but didn’t catch this on the MVD website when I first read it. That would explain why all the inspection sites were in Albuquerque!
“Emissions testing is required of motor vehicles registered or commuting in Bernalillo County”
My plan is to register in Bernalillo County so I’ll have to get an inspection. I’m pretty sure my vehicle should pass though.

GoingMobile said:

I do believe, as slow2day mentions, the emissions check is only for the Albuquerque area.

For a state with the highest poverty in the entire U.S. Mississippi's taxes don't provide any breaks for its citizens, even of lower income. (Except that they can't afford an expensive car) They even charge fairly high sales taxes on groceries. Property taxes are relatively low as they provide very little in the way of public services and have been negligent in properly funding public education ever since the integration of public schools started in the 1970s.

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I’m guessing the high auto registration fee has a double revenue bonus for the state. I’m guessing there is a much higher number of tickets issued to the low income folks who drive on an unregistered vehicle.

I'm currently living in a place with a physical address, but there is no USPS mail delivery at that address. So it is necessary to have any mail sent to a PO Box. It works, but I have to make sure any billing or public agency I deal with, has both a physical and a separate mailing address on file. In some ways that seems to be the perfect situation for establishing a physical address and not having to worry about mail being sent to it after you have moved out. I think mail is returned as undeliverable because of no service, or forwarded to my PO Box. Hopefully I could point out there is no mail service, if say the DMV sent something there. And hopefully they wouldn't need to find out I no longer live there. I currently have a license with an address I haven't lived at in 2 years and all of my DMV correspondence is sent to my PO Box in the same town. But logic and bureaucratic agencies often do not correlate.

How are you thinking about establishing another physical address other than the RV park?

ZurdoBA said:

NM does allow having a separate mailing address from the residency but I’m hoping to change my residence address. I didn’t want to keep the RV park as my residence because I won’t be living there after this month.

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I'm not sure why you would need to change your residence address. As long as all your important mail is going to the mail service and reliably forwarded to you, then you should be set. Driver's license, vehicle tag renewal,etc.

What address does your insurance co. have on file for you and where are your proof of coverage cards sent?

I'm hoping that I can find an ins. co. that does everything by email with no need to send anything by snail mail. Over the years, whenever I've added a new vehicle they've sent temporary cards via email that I print out and use until the official cards arrive. Maybe it's a way for them to be sure you actually live at your listed address?

GoingMobile said:

How are you thinking about establishing another physical address other than the RV park?

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That kind of circles back to why I started the thread. I’m questioning if it is possible to have my permanent address on my ID as my mail service address. One of my main concerns that stuff continues to get mailed to the RV park after I leave. I’ve already tried to set up a USPS change of address and, because the RV park is a business, USPS won’t let me.
Additionally, I’d like to register to vote in a county where I will likely be spending most of my time April - Sept. The RV park where I’m currently wintering is c. 300-400 miles from where I spend most of my time.

slow2day said:

I'm hoping that I can find an ins. co. that does everything by email with no need to send anything thru snail mail. Over the years, whenever I've added a new vehicle they've sent temporary cards that I print out and use until the real, semi-annual cards arrive.

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I use Progressive and they offer paperless service. Even though I’m set to paperless, they have still mailed a couple times. But, whatever they snailmail, the same documents are also available online for me to download. The insurance cards are available online too. I store mine right on my phone so I don’t have to carry a paper copy in my car. I have an iPhone and it has a virtual Wallet where things like this can be kept and organized.

^Why not register your vehicle in the same county? No need to go back for emissions every other year. Possibly cheaper insurance,too since it may not be as urban as ABQ area.

Be aware that you won't be able to do a USPS forward from your mail service. You need to do a COA with each biz/entity that you get mail from.

ZurdoBA said:

I use Progressive and they offer paperless service. Even though I’m set to paperless, they have still mailed a couple times. But, whatever they snailmail, the same documents are also available online for me to download. The insurance cards are available online too. I store mine right on my phone so I don’t have to carry a paper copy in my car. I have an iPhone and it has a virtual Wallet where things like this can be kept and organized.

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Do you have full-timer's ins. with Progressive? I'll be checking them out for sure if they are paperless.

ZurdoBA said:

That kind of circles back to why I started the thread. I’m questioning if it is possible to have my permanent address on my ID as my mail service address. One of my main concerns that stuff continues to get mailed to the RV park after I leave.

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That's why it's important to know if DMV will send to the mail service. Does NM have online tag renewal? Murphy's law says they will mess up and send tag or DL renewals to the old address. If that happens you, 'should' be able to go to any DMV office to renew. Just keep your exp. dates in mind.

I would think many insurance companies use auto pay and can email or fax information to you if you ask. I also believe my RV park will receive and hold my mail for an additional $60 to the yearly lot fee but Caballo Loco in Arizona is a really unusually accommading place. I would ask though.

bullfrog said:

I would think many insurance companies use auto pay and can email or fax information to you if you ask. I also believe my RV park will receive and hold my mail for an additional $60 to the yearly lot fee but Caballo Loco in Arizona is a really unusually accommading place. I would ask though.

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My current RV park actually has a mail room for the guests who are staying 1 month or longer. That is a great amenity. I’ve always wondered why most places frown on or downright forbid guests getting mail and parcels.

slow2day said:

That's why it's important to know if DMV will send to the mail service. Does NM have online tag renewal? Murphy's law says they will mess up and send tag or DL renewals to the old address. If that happens you, 'should' be able to go to any DMV office to renew. Just keep your exp. dates in mind.

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I’m pretty sure I can renew tags online here but the initial NM title and registration is in person.

slow2day said:

Do you have full-timer's ins. with Progressive? I'll be checking them out for sure if they are paperless.

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No on the full-timer. I tow a trailer so the Progressive insurance is my SUV. If I recall correctly, they didn’t offer full-timer RV insurance. Again, from memory, I think they max out at using the RV up to 150 days per year.

slow2day said:

^Why not register your vehicle in the same county? No need to go back for emissions every other year. Possibly cheaper insurance,too since it may not be as urban as ABQ area.

Be aware that you won't be able to do a USPS forward from your mail service. You need to do a COA with each biz/entity that you get mail from.

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That’s on my todo list to check insurance rates for ABQ. Theft is high there so it may be more. Coming from Metro Detroit area, I know how much car insurance goes up the closer your residence is to the city!!! Rates can get as high as $5000/yr for Detroit residents!

Something to be aware if you do end up being able to get a P.O. Box as an address on your driver's license is it may not be accepted as ID without additional proof of a physical address in many situations. However a US passport in most cases will be. I got an Arizona driver's license several years ago which doesn't have to be renewed for 5 years with a P.O. Box address. When I went to visit relatives in Kentucky I couldn't use my license for ID to purchase decongestants at a Walmart as it didn't show a physical address. If you are going to be in one place for a while it is probably a good idea to get a US passport while it is easier to get required documents, even take a seasonal job if necessary.

ZurdoBA said:

That kind of circles back to why I started the thread. I’m questioning if it is possible to have my permanent address on my ID as my mail service address.

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Only the DMV can answer that. As GM said, your present physical address is just temporary anyway. If you reg. in another county, you would probably need a physical address there for a while. If you will be getting a Real ID driver's license you will for sure need a physical address. After that, renewals will be sent to the mail service. Do you have a passport? Then no need to sweat Real ID on your DL.

bullfrog said:

Something to be aware if you do end up being able to get a P.O. Box as an address on your driver's license is it may not be accepted as ID without additional proof of a physical address in many situations. However a US passport in most cases will be. I got an Arizona driver"s license several years ago which doesn't have to be renewed for 5 years with a P.O. Box address. When I went to visit relatives in Kentucky I couldn't use my license for ID to purchase decongestants at a Walmart as it didn't show a physical address. If you are going to be in one place for a while it is probably a good idea to get a US passport while it is easy.

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Mine isn’t a PO box, it’s a mail service so it has an actual street address.
I just had to renew my passport and it also has both a residence address and an option to have a separate mailing address which is nice. Given it takes forever to get a passport these days without paying the $60 extra to expedite.
My goal was to upgrade my drivers license to a Real ID because I hadn’t realized until recently that my passport had expired.

slow2day said:

Do you have a passport? Then no need to sweat Real ID on your DL.

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Unfortunately mine is expired so I’m waiting on a renewal. Who know how long it will take. I ended up getting a standard ID then planned to upgrade. Right now I don’t have any need to fly so I’m not rushed to upgrade but will need it at some point in case of emergency.
Passport was renewed at the same address as the driver’s license but with my mail service as my mailing address.
Ran into another issue with the real ID too. They require a birth certificate and mine is stowed away somewhere in a box in a storage garage in Michigan. I was a bit shocked at how much they charge to order a birth cert copy online