This is quite a useful and interesting discussion! Some replies to three posters and then my situation which could benefit from further comment — my thanks in advance.
RickG at #20: How interesting to learn how USVIs accommodates their tourists an temp residents, given that they are the Center of the
Caribbean Cruisers universe. I’m sure that
marinas with livaboards in high visitor areas find improvised accomodations with the law most places. Exceptions? Well, that’s probably a new thread with some odd tales.
Montanan and
Valhala360 — the First is quite long and interesting. A lot of information. The second I mention because that post, as well as others after the first add perspective on the edgyness of cruising. The young might do world travel as “backpackers” did and still do, similar to cruisers, But they simply travel with much less and only possess much less, typically, at that stage in life. Our lives are different from theirs by dint of survival and achievement and....hmmmm, taxable estate value, I guess?
At the top of page 2 is
Captain_Puget who gets angsty about “The Man!” The threat of control in an increasingly less private and less anonymous world. Do we really value our privacy if we keep giving up our identity so freely? Are we too ready compromise? Are there alternatives? Should there, can there be more?
This raises ethical questions and conundrums which, if we’re conscientious, we cannot escape pondering sometimes; others are just happy to gain a useful, easy slot. So, allow me to run through some rationales for “the Man” and some partial workarounds, and then to finish with my situation.
Residence is where we live. But citizenship is where we belong. Cruisers, like other long term travellers, are trying to fit into both categories without really being typical of either because those sorts usually overlap fairly completely. But what if your residence moves with some frequency?
Thus, we embrace a conundrum and find joy in the freedoms! Well, the physical address requirement is instrumental for the Man because it is a means to make abuses like mail bombs or mailed poisons (and soon enough mailed
designer viruses or bacteria), from wreaking long term havoc on society by making offenders more accountable for their actions.
With a physical tie, identity and physical description can be gained by the law in fairly short order. Therefore, no more unabomber’s hanging out off the grid in a seemingly
remote wood heated cabins in the Montana Rockies who can enjoy the local library for years and years — while still making bombs to maim airline executives and Yale University computer scientists over years and years. This was anonymity at too high of a social cost,
In other words, society gets improved levels of
safety from random terror at the
price of continual, accessibly found ties to identity (even if the person still cannot be easily located).
That’s the top domain of our revised social compact today.
But what about privacy not involving criminal harm to others? Lifestyle privacy or maybe some degree of financial privacy? Why shouldn’t people have that option, like living in the French Marqeses (sp?), like Gauguin(sp?)? Carefree among the Palm trees and along sandy beaches? Who here never imagines doing that walk?
I think three years ago I read a book “How To Be Anonymous.” And the author had spent decades helping people to do just that!
The most interesting
advice he had was pretty much perfect for anyone seeking to be a nonviolent non criminal sort who wants to be left alone. His
advice was to hire another to do part-time proxy
work. To do this, you do three things: have a
contract (limited power of attorney agreement), pay them regularly and attractively well (but not ostentatiously). But most of all,
screen your hire to be on your side. Ask background questions that make them most likely to desire to be motivated to respect your goal of privacy. Hire them to do mail forwarding, etc. For them, it’s easy
money for an hour of work each month, and maybe three hours once a year.
OK. Now adapting this and the above from this thread to my situation. I’m
buying a yacht to live in and travel like other cruisers. I could well go to SBI
route. Or another mail forwarding service for travellers
route.
But what I want that is missing from discussion is asset protection with minimal exposure of my identity. There are at least three to five western states that license boats and issue LLCs at low costs (with varying levels of privacy). A boat owned by an LLC remains insurable, while gaining added financial protection against slip and fall lawsuits.
How are physical ties maintained for federal or state interests? States require annual reregistration or
maintenance fees be paid, and through a state authorised Registered Agent with an address of
record.
In other words, the Agent is your LLCs physical address for a lawsuit, taxes, or federal inqueries. And often these agents can serve other forwarding functions such as a physical address for drivers license and financial institutions. Or else one might mix and match this with a travellers mail forwarding service, eg, Wyoming, where you can do all three — boat licensing, LLC, mail forwarding — in Cheyenne). But Montana and New
Mexico are attractively lowest cost for the first two. But
Texas, Idaho or even Nevada might be in the running.