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The US does have sales tax, but it's not the same as the VAT in Europe. The sales tax here is applied to certain things, the VAT is applied to everything. The rates are different depending on the product or service, but it is added.
So, go to the doctor, you pay VAT, in Germany that would be 7 percent vs the normal 19 percent on most goods and services. Buy a car, buy a house, buy groceries, have a plumber come fix a drain, all of that has the VAT added on. Each country does it differently, just like each state, but on average, the VAT in Europe is 21 percent.
That's on top of income taxes, property taxes, church taxes, tv taxes, car taxes, gas taxes. You get the point, I am sure.
I am very familiar with VAT and other taxation in several European countries and was waiting for a response from OP.
I am very familiar with VAT and other taxation in several European countries and was waiting for a response from OP.
From me? When I travel abroad, I buy only food, and occasionally a souvenir T shirt, if I come across a particularly cool one (I used to collect geographically-related T shirts, but now I have several hundred that I never wear, so I stopped collecting them). I pay whatever they charge, and have no idea what kind of tax may be included, since the cost of my purchases is trivial. Hostel charges tend to include some type of taxes, but likewise, I never study them because the total charge is so modest. I don't ask my Euro family and friends how much they pay for stuff they buy, or on what they paid VAT, so am not particularly knowledgeable about the matter; I just know it is being charged.
We have no close family nearby who could help out. So what do other snowbirds/sunbirds/part-timers do? We pay some bills online, but we're opposed to all-automatic payments because of the potential for mistakes and abuse. And you never know if some very important letter requires your attention "within 30 days," or some such condition.
Go to USPS.com and sign up for "Informed Delivery," which is a free service. Every day you will get an e-mail with photographs of the front of every envelope/piece of mail that will be arriving that day. If something appears that you know you need, or seems urgent, have a neighbor/housesitter forward just that one piece.
As for bills, you can pay them manually online without signing up for autopay. This is what I do, as I also don't like autopayments. It's so simple and takes me less than 10 minutes once a month to pay all the bills.
Go to USPS.com and sign up for "Informed Delivery," which is a free service. Every day you will get an e-mail with photographs of the front of every envelope/piece of mail that will be arriving that day. If something appears that you know you need, or seems urgent, have a neighbor/housesitter forward just that one piece.
As for bills, you can pay them manually online without signing up for autopay. This is what I do, as I also don't like autopayments. It's so simple and takes me less than 10 minutes once a month to pay all the bills.
I do the same. I pay my bills online, but I won't put them on autopay, just in case there is an error or a change I don't know about. I figure it would make it harder to straighten out if they could hit my account automatically.
Go to USPS.com and sign up for "Informed Delivery," which is a free service. Every day you will get an e-mail with photographs of the front of every envelope/piece of mail that will be arriving that day. If something appears that you know you need, or seems urgent, have a neighbor/housesitter forward just that one piece.
As for bills, you can pay them manually online without signing up for autopay. This is what I do, as I also don't like autopayments. It's so simple and takes me less than 10 minutes once a month to pay all the bills.
I've used online bill pay since the web was a thing. I can count on one hand the number of times an error was made by the institution. Maybe one or two serious attempts at fraud. There are many ways to protect yourself if you stay informed. I only authorize auto-pay for recurring bills that don't vary: an insurance premium, mortgage, TV streaming subscription, etc. I review and pay the others manually. I can do it from pretty much anywhere I might be traveling from my or another computer. I also set up email reminders for upcoming payments due. Takes mere minutes per month to manage.
Ok if you say so yourself - I have no opinion on that subject, I have no idea who you are :-). But I am just wondering why is this thread of interest to you if you are trying to figure out how to spend several days in the sun (apparently with a dog) every winter. People normally do not get a second home to spend only several days there in the winter. It seems as though you are looking for a hotel or B&B or AirBnB that accepts dogs? Why don't you then start a thread about seniors traveling with dogs?
I’ve traveled to every continent but Africa but world socioeconomics have altered so I need to pivot. I have no idea who YOU are, nor do I care, but you must be breathing rarified air. Actually, any thread of yours is of no interest to me at this point.
Go to USPS.com and sign up for "Informed Delivery," which is a free service. Every day you will get an e-mail with photographs of the front of every envelope/piece of mail that will be arriving that day. If something appears that you know you need, or seems urgent, have a neighbor/housesitter forward just that one piece.
Haha, I did that & they sent me a photo of my package, which they loaded onto a different route, driven by a contract driver. Then it got returned to the P.O. & mysteriously disappeared for 2 weeks. I finally got it by going down to the P.O. & picking it up myself.
That service is only as good as your local P.O. Mine sucks. I could write a book.
I’ve traveled to every continent but Africa but world socioeconomics have altered so I need to pivot. I have no idea who YOU are, nor do I care, but you must be breathing rarified air. Actually, any thread of yours is of no interest to me at this point.
Not sure what is "any thread of mine" since I don't own any thread, but if you mean any thread I started, I actually started this one , and I agree that you don't seem to be interested in it, since you are posting entirely off topic - but if you have no interest in it, why are you posting in it? Of course, I don't object to off topic (I am the queen of off-topic myself), but you seem to be here exclusively to make remarks about alleged snobbery of us who ARE actually interested in the topic of this thread. If you are not interested in the thread, then indeed don't participate. What is your point here, other than displaying pathetic envy? What is your specific question or point related to maintenance of a second home, or an equivalent of a second home (such as an RV or a houseboat)?
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, and I agree that you don't seem to be interested in it, since you are posting entirely off topic - but if you have no interest in it, why are you posting in it? 
Of course, I don't object to off topic (I am the queen of off-topic myself), but you seem to be here exclusively to make remarks about alleged snobbery of us who ARE actually interested in the topic of this thread. If you are not interested in the thread, then indeed don't participate. What is your point here, other than displaying pathetic envy? What is your specific question or point related to maintenance of a second home, or an equivalent of a second home (such as an RV or a houseboat)?