[costaricageorge]

These may seem a little stupid but I have lived in C.R. for the last 14 years. Is it fairly easy to obtain a P.O. box? I will be visiting in April with the idea of moving full-time in July. I imagine I will need a P.O. to get a bank account and a head start for when I need to get a driver's licsense. Also how early do kids need to be registered for school? If I got there in July would my son be able to start the school year? Thanks for any replies.

[airics]

how old are your kids.. i hope you have researched the schools, nevada is terrible for schools

[costaricageorge]

Yes I have looked at the schools my son will be seven in March. Try looking at public schools in Costa Rica. Actually his school right now is good but very expensive and he travels 45 minutes each way. Sucks to have to send your kindergardners to private school plus no extra curricular activities. I.E. little league, soccer, basketball. As far as crime is concerned no comparison to here. I know all the negatives of Vegas but I am looking for some of the positives. I can't say that I will stay in Vegas forever but I wanting to get back in the States and for job reasons Vegas will probably be the place. I am not going there without something lined up and my home here in Costa Rica is rented with a 3 year lease which started last July so that will help pay my rent up there until I decide if I like it. I can get the job I have here back anytime so to me it is worth the risk to try Vegas for a year. Costa Rica has been good to me but like all places it has changed and I am ready to move on.

[Willy702]

P.O. Boxes are easy to get, either from the post office or from one of the many businesses that offer them. They probably will just ask for a couple of months upfront which should run maybe $15/month or so. Supposedly there are laws on how you are supposed to represent these though are you sure it can be used for starting a bank account?

[costaricageorge]

Not sure that is why I am asking. I'm just getting the whole process started. I guess I will work out those details in April when I come up for a visit. Thanks.

[Willy702]

Actually George most banks now sign you up for a bank account online. After you finish the online paperwork they mail you the signature forms to make it official. Maybe try Bank of America or Citibank to see what the requirements are and you might have an account before you even get here.

[airics]

the Patriot Act requires you to have a social security number to open an account here or if it is a business account it must be incorporated here

[Willy702]

He's a US citizen I am sure he has a SSN

[Tiger Beer]

Post Office addresses should be really easy. I've opened them up in other countries even, no problem. As long as you are paying for them, they'll give them to you.

However, I'm pretty sure that you MUST actually have a physical address to get a Driver's License. A PO BOX will not work. Some banks are a bit suspicious as well without an actual address. I opened up a bank account in Hawaii a couple years ago (I'm living in Japan, and I'm American), they required that I bring in proof of other bills that were going to that physical address. (Originally I was just trying to use my friend's address, without one that was my own).

So, in short, the PO BOX will be the easy part....but getting the others without a physical address will prove very problematic.

[Kaiminani]

I recommend getting a private mailbox - there are many companies that rent them, frequently cheaper than actual USPS mailbox - such as The UPS Store (formerly Mailboxes Etc) - although you may be better served by using a local store rather than a national franchaise like The UPS Store.

Benefits of most private mailboxes include no bulk junk mail (the kind addressed to 'occupant' etc). 24-hour access and lockers for packages - so if FedEx delivers something during the day, it goes in the locker and you can pick it up whenever is most convenient. Some places are even smart enough to send you an email or text when you receive a package. You can also get your mail forwarded - they will stuff all your mail in a big envelope and remail it to your forwarding address, you just pay the postage. If you ever forward your mail via the USPS, they sell your name and new address to EVERYBODY - its a sure way to get junk mail at your new address. Some of the boutique private mailboxes will open your mail, scan it and email copies of it to you so that you don't even need to go in to pick it up. Those are great for when you are out of state for long periods of time.

However, for me the best benefit of them all is that you can list your address in the form of:

George CostaRica
2210 Your Street #NUM
Las Vegas, etc, etc

Where NUM is the mailbox number. To most people it will appear as if it is an apartment rather than a mailbox. There are some databases out there that track what street addresses are really private mailboxes - which is one reason going with a national franchaise might be less useful than a local-only company who is less likely to be in such a database.

Over the years and in many states I have routinely used private mailboxes for my address with banks, DMVs, IRS, etc. Some states have laws requiring a physical address be on file with the DMV, I've never had a problem using my private mailbox instead - just fill it in on the form and no one is the wiser. Some states require a phone or utility bill as proof of residence in order to get a driver's license - I've had no problem using my private mailbox as the billing address for all utilities and usually the actual service address isn't even listed.

At one point the police even tried to locate my wife to tell her that her car had been broken into (parked on the street in front of our actual residence) - but they couldn't find her because the address on file was the private mailbox. Not even the police gave her a hassle about it despite that law in that state at that time. Don't do anything fraudulent and no one is going to care that you lied to protect your privacy.

All in all, I can't think of a single way in which a USPS mailbox is better than a private mailbox.