REMEMBER WHEN
In July of 1999 , we stood in the middle of an empty living room in an empty house filled with many years of memories . Where a cardboard ‘ Estate Sale ’ sign once stood , a ‘ Home For Sale ’ sign was placed by our real estate agent .
There was no important reason for us to remain in Bremerton during the sale , so we would be traveling to Salem , Oregon . We chose to move to Oregon for one super important reason . They had no sales tax ! We were about to embark on a new lifestyle that would require the purchase of our new home on wheels . The purchase would be pricey , and the savings of paying no sales tax would be substantial . We chose Salem because one of Sharon ’ s cousins , who had lived there for the past 40 years , told us that she knew of a decent furnished apartment that happened to be for rent . We asked her to act as our agent and put down a deposit on our behalf to secure the apartment for us . It wasn ’ t important to look at it first . As long as it was clean , it would do while we were shopping for our first ‘ Big Rig .’
Some may ask if we considered that Oregon has a state income tax . The answer is yes , but all of our income came from the federal government , not the state of Oregon , and they cannot assess a state tax on federal earnings . Besides , if things went according to our plan , we wouldn ’ t be residents of Oregon very long , just our first year .
So , we packed all of the stuff we needed and headed to Salem ,
Oregon . Within the first week , we had made necessary notifications to banks , insurance agents , medical contacts , etc . Everything we needed to do to establish Oregon residency , Including getting Oregon driver ’ s licenses . Our real estate agent sold our house within the first week it was on the market , so we had cash to buy our new rig .
We had joined an internet-based group called the ‘ RV Club ’ shortly after deciding to sell our house . The internet was still in its infancy in 1999 , and video capabilities were rare . Still , this online club provided a means for us to learn by sharing information with like-minded folks .
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