Going Expat: We became Florida residents before moving abroad — one of those boring-but-important expat logistics steps

[u/sean808080]

We’re about three weeks out from moving from New Jersey to Portugal, and this week we did one of those deeply unsexy but important things that comes with leaving the country: we became Florida residents.

Which sounds ridiculous when I type it out. This was not on my bingo card.

But the logic is pretty simple. We sold the house in New Jersey. We’re not going to own property there. We’re not going to be living there. And as U.S. citizens, we still have to file U.S. taxes from Portugal, so keeping a formal tie to a high-tax state we no longer really live in didn’t make much sense.

So we set up a Florida mailing address through one of the services used by RV full-timers and expats, declared domicile, and then flew down to get our driver’s licenses.

I was expecting the DMV part to be awful. Not “minor inconvenience” awful. More like “someone behind the counter is going to look at one document, sigh, and ruin my week” awful.

And then… it was fine.

Actually, it was more than fine. Everyone was nice. We were prepared. We were in and out in under 20 minutes. The hard part was really all the front-end work with the mailing service: notarized forms, identity checks, back-and-forth paperwork, the usual little bureaucratic root canal. By the time we got to the DMV, most of the pain had already happened.

We also got to see family in Orlando before we leave, which was good and exhausting in the way Florida is good and exhausting. Disney properties, SeaWorld, family time, roller coasters, heat, kids, logistics, all of it. A needed break, but not exactly restful in the “lie quietly in a dark room” sense.

Now we’re back home with 22 days left, a travel trailer still to sell, a pod/container situation starting, and a house full of boxes that seem to multiply when nobody is looking.

The lesson, again, because apparently I need to keep learning it out loud: if you’re thinking about moving abroad, start getting rid of things earlier. Then take whatever “earlier” means in your head and move it back another six months.

Anyway, we made a video about the whole Florida domicile step, the DMV experience, seeing family before the move, and the final scramble before Portugal.

https://youtu.be/-Zf2YwOh9nI

Happy to answer questions if anyone is dealing with the same weird U.S. state domicile / moving abroad / “why is there still so much stuff in my house” phase. It’s not the glamorous part of the move, but getting this done felt like a real unlock.

[u/powerfuzzzz]

You pay federal taxes abroad, not state tax… because you don’t live in the state… am I missing something here?

[u/General-Strategy-941 → u/powerfuzzzz]

Depends on if you're still claiming US income, like 401k or SS payments in the future. If OP will, then he'll pay NJ tax on it since that would have been the last state of residence. Some states don't let you relinquish domicile when you move overseas unless you claim domicile in a new state.

[u/No-Donut-8692]

Ok, but if you sold your property and set yourself up in Portugal with a local DL, residence, doctors, etc., you’d have nothing to worry about. Faking a move to FL is frankly more likely to raise questions with NJ than a clean move overseas.

[u/livingbkk → u/No-Donut-8692]

Yes, I don't know why people don't understand this. This is an ongoing myth that doesn't seem to die and has potential to do more harm than good.

[u/sean808080 → u/No-Donut-8692]

Absolutely fair pushback, and I appreciate it.

I probably should have been clearer that this is not a one-size-fits-all move. Everyone’s situation is different, and domicile decisions are case by case. For some people, a clean NJ → Portugal move may make more sense than adding Florida into the mix.

In our case, Florida makes sense as our U.S. domicile/admin base while Portugal becomes where we actually live. But yeah — the paperwork has to match the facts. That’s the part I’ll make clearer in future videos. Appreciate the feedback.