Residency is based on a physical address, where mail is delivered. Having utility bills helps, but really all you need is to be able to receive mail there for over 6 months out of the year. An RV park, an apartment, even an extended stay hotel room will do, so long as you can get mail delivered to it. That's how a lot of people get away with having just mail drops and establishing or maintaining their residency requirements from that. It usually works pretty good unless you are trying to avoid alimony or some such.

Thanks ben.

Now that sounds like a great idea!!!

I established my Colorado residency by putting the address of the hotel I was at on my Colorado drivers license. I think I was there for two months in 2006. It may be that the drivers license is the key, because the state determined my residency requirements for hunting purposes based on what my drivers license said, and I gotta think if you can get a resident hunting or fishing license, then you are considered a resident by that state. Considering most state agencies are going to ask for your drivers license to determine your resident eligibility requirements, I would amend my previous recommendation to include getting a state drivers license for your desired state of residence. For that, any address you use in that state for the drivers license application should suffice.

I can say it was almost impossible to convince the state fish and game department I was a resident without a drivers license from that state, and almost automatic with it. It is far too easy these days to get a drivers license from any state, so long as you have a current valid one from another state.

"...find a business that has a mail drop service and use their address..."

Talk about timing, we met a couple last night who do exactly that, they say it works like a charm...

Another way to prove residency is to register to vote in that state...

As usual it depends on the state. One state I lived in had a list of all the UPS Store/Mail Boxes Etc stores and would not let you use one of those as your physical address. They also had a physical address location element, if you did not receive mail at your physical address you had to provide a map of how to get you your "home".

Best suggestion would be to try the mail drop address first. Sometimes they want you to bring in a piece of mail delivered to that address when you apply for your DL. Again it depends on the state. YMMV.

South Dakota Residency Requirements:
http://www.sdgfp.info/Wildlife/hunting/Info/Residency.htm

"To purchase or to apply for a resident license, a person must:

* Actually live within and be a bona fide resident of South Dakota for at least 90 days with the intent to make it home, and
* Have a South Dakota driver's license, and
* Have their motor vehicles registered in South Dakota, and
* Make no claim to residency in another state.
* Nonresident minors under 18 years of age who are legal dependents of residents are entitled to resident licenses.

* The following are entitled to resident licenses without the above requirements if they have resided in the state for 30 days immediately before buying or applying for a license:

* U.S. Armed Forces personnel stationed in South Dakota.
* Nonmilitary persons residing on restricted military reservations in South Dakota.
* Employees of the U.S. Dept of Veterans Affairs or VA hospital or patients in a VA hospital.
* Full-time students attending a South Dakota post-high school institution.
* Foreign exchange students at either public or private high schools (hunter safety card required for those under 16 years of age).

PROOF OF RESIDENCY

To buy a license, a resident needs a valid South Dakota driver's license or valid SD ID card.

Sue

The "make no claim to residency of another state" is important. It's kindly like U.S. citizenship, you can;t claim allegiance to another country.

As far as the bitter cold winters returning that Blast was speaking of, I don;t think you have to worry. Don;t forget, we're suyffering from "global warming" (and Man-Made at that!)
((( )))

Considering the high cost of CA registration, just on our P/U (about $1000 a year right now), we could buy that $2500 lot, get a P.O. box, and break even in no time at all...