Any Californians live in other states or countries part of the year? (Coachella: RV parks, rent)

[MtnSurfer]

I'm curious if anyone here lives in another state or country for part of the year and why? Or are you planning to do so? I've actually toyed with the idea of living abroad during retirement or in another state for part of the time.

For example, we love to visit the PNW during the nicer parts of the year - Summer and Spring primarily. Though I don't think I'd want to live there year round due to all the wet weather and snow depending on location. CA is a great place to live for moderate climate and if you have family here, its nice to see them for at least part of the year as well.

In addition, there are more affordable parts of CA which are really nice during the Winter but get too hot during the Summer months. So living somewhere else part of the year could actually work out well. You could essentially enjoy the best climates of both locations depending on preferences. Summer in the mountains and Winter inland somewhere hot normally, for example.

Of course, this could also work for other states as well like the AZ in the Winter and the PNW in the Summer. Or other affordable countries like Costa Rica and Portugal for part of the year. That could be fun.

Derek

[GSR13]

Wikipedia claims the Coachella Valley population goes from 400,000 to 500,000 full time residents down to 200,000 during July. Sounds like an exaggeration to me however.

[1AngryTaxPayer]

My game plan is a cabin in either Washington or Wyoming and when the first snow flies beat it back down here to RV it at either a park or blm land (free). It will cost me a couple hundred a month storage and some RV parks are up to 800 a month but the cabin will be paid off and it will be out of CA. That is my main goal so CA can't eat my pension.

[RosieSD]

Originally Posted by 1AngryTaxPayer

My game plan is a cabin in either Washington or Wyoming and when the first snow flies beat it back down here to RV it at either a park or blm land (free). It will cost me a couple hundred a month storage and some RV parks are up to 800 a month but the cabin will be paid off and it will be out of CA. That is my main goal so CA can't eat my pension.

If you have a cabin with land, you won't need to pay to store your RV.

[1AngryTaxPayer]

Originally Posted by RosieSD

If you have a cabin with land, you won't need to pay to store your RV.

I'm trying to avoid crossing the country with a giant TT. Nothing sucks more than having to be the only driver on a 1500 mile trip

[MtnSurfer]

Originally Posted by 1AngryTaxPayer

My game plan is a cabin in either Washington or Wyoming and when the first snow flies beat it back down here to RV it at either a park or blm land (free). It will cost me a couple hundred a month storage and some RV parks are up to 800 a month but the cabin will be paid off and it will be out of CA. That is my main goal so CA can't eat my pension.

Yeah, that sounds like a pretty good plan. I wonder how long you can live in CA a year without paying income tax? 3-4 months?

Your residency would be in WA or WY which have no state income tax. Both have really beautiful areas especially in the Summer and parts of Spring and Fall (before snow/rain seasons). Of the two, I prefer WA with the Cascades, Sound, Coast, Columbia River, Portland and Canada just north. Plus, you're closer to CA if you need to fly/drive. WY seems very isolated and limited by comparison. Though for part of the year it wouldn't be so bad.

Derek

[MtnSurfer]

Here's an interesting read. It appears the burden is on you to prove you are 'not' a resident if living in CA part-time. I guess lots of snowbirds have become tax targets as well depending on their length of stay, etc... THE-PART-TIME-RESIDENT-TAX-TRAP

Derek

[Crazy4Chickens]

Originally Posted by 1AngryTaxPayer

My game plan is a cabin in either Washington or Wyoming and when the first snow flies beat it back down here to RV it at either a park or blm land (free). It will cost me a couple hundred a month storage and some RV parks are up to 800 a month but the cabin will be paid off and it will be out of CA. That is my main goal so CA can't eat my pension.

Check out the Star Valley Ranch, Wyoming. Beautiful mountain scenery, no state income tax, fantastic weather in the summer months, golf courses to put around on if that's your thing, and then high tail it to California like the majority of the snow birds here do. You can even rent out your place in the off months to make a little extra income. 😉

[1AngryTaxPayer]

Originally Posted by Crazy4Chickens

Check out the Star Valley Ranch, Wyoming. Beautiful mountain scenery, no state income tax, fantastic weather in the summer months, golf courses to put around on if that's your thing, and then high tail it to California like the majority of the snow birds here do. You can even rent out your place in the off months to make a little extra income. 😉

That's a good idea. Pretty close to where I want to be too.

[MtnSurfer]

Originally Posted by Crazy4Chickens

Check out the Star Valley Ranch, Wyoming. Beautiful mountain scenery, no state income tax, fantastic weather in the summer months, golf courses to put around on if that's your thing, and then high tail it to California like the majority of the snow birds here do. You can even rent out your place in the off months to make a little extra income. ��

Are they able to avoid CA income tax as a part-time resident? It seems like CA's Franchise Tax Board (FTB) is trying to get some money out of snowbirds. On another investment forum I found this CA snowbird's advice:

"When we bought our snowbird home in California 15 years ago, we were advised to be very careful about the number of days we stay in California, not to have a bank account here, keep our cars titled and licensed in our home state, and have our utility and tax bills mailed to our home address in Washington. At that time we were told that the California Franchise Tax Board is very aggressive in pursuing income tax on those snowbirds who stay more than six months in California. We took the advice to heart, and stay about 5 1/2 months, and have our home titled under a revocable living trust that is recorded in both California and Washington (it is strictly for the California house)." -https://www.bogleheads.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=131950