Canadian physical address

I read where folks in the US have available to them the option of a mail forwarding service (for example; South Dakota. http://mydakotaaddress.com)....

Is anyone aware of a similar service in Canada / for Canadians?

thanks!
regards, peter

UPS Store www.theupsstore.ca is one I know of.  They used to be Mailboxes Etc.

question.
I have heard aobut using Ups and they will forward along your mail when you get to your next destination,but someone mentioned on an other group about over the border issue how that you cant use a BOX,is this true?If so what does one do if they dont have perm resss or someone to use for address?

rebecca62 said:

question.
I have heard aobut using Ups and they will forward along your mail when you get to your next destination,but someone mentioned on an other group about over the border issue how that you cant use a BOX,is this true?If so what does one do if they dont have perm resss or someone to use for address?

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For what it's worth you can have them forward your email once you have arrived at a destination where you are going to be staying a while.  So it's not like you have to give them an address ahead of time.

I recall reading where one US based service will scan in the envelope so you can decide if it's important enough to be forwarded on to you.

I don't know about sending mail across the border into the US.

Yes i heard same about them forwarding mail on USA good question i shall look into that for sure

If you sign up for it, mydakotaaddress.com will email you every day that you get mail, including sender info.

uh but i am Canadain i think this would only apply for Americans?

Someone mentioned the company so I added that for completeness and for others who may see this string sooner or later. The service is located in the USA, but I would think a Canadian could use it. You could ask the company. Not sure whether it is what you want or need, though.

thanks Pierat
however, when i full time, I will need a Canadian address (impacts health insurance, taxation, and a few other things)

and yes, i did mention that site - but as a reference point - and was wondering if there was a Canadian equivalent

regards, peter

Peter,

I had to deal with this situation when we were fulltiming and you are quite right, as Canadians we need to show a Canadian physicial address for the very important reasons you meantioned earlier.

In Canada, because Medicare is a Provincial jurisdiction, you need to show a physical address in the Province you choose to be your home base, unlike our American colleagues who don't require a physical address because medical insurance is handled differently.

In Canada you need to demonstrate that you have a Province of domicile, which means not only a physical address, but a local bank account and sometimes other forms of ties to a community.

For a time I used the physical address of a trusted relative, which could have been an actual emergency home if required, because they had a spare bedroom.

Something to consider, is if you are fulltiming, and become ill while in the U.S. and need to be repatriated for intensive medical care, you may want to have a contingency plan for emergency housing.  In an emergency situation, in the middle of winter when one spouse is being transported to a hospital, the oether spouse doesn't want to be searching for a motel or other place to live temprarily.

That being said, the UPS Store (formerly MailBoxes Etc) is your best bet.  They provide you with an actual physical address, and your milbox number is shown as a suite or appt number, thereby most likely satisfying bureaucratic requirements for your drivers license, passport and bank ID.

They will forward your mail to any location using UPS or other courrier service, and you pay the forwarding costs.

The Province you choose as your base will determine the number of days you can be out of the Province and continue to maintain Medicare benefits.  It varies from Province to Province and if you are not familiar with those rules, let me know and I'll elaborate.

The other side of the coin is the number of days you spend in the U.S. without being required to submit an IRS tax return.  Are you familiar with the IRS rule concerning Closer Connectionto Another Country?  and it's accompanying form?

thanks Steve!
good info - it is most appreciated

we are in bc - and yes - have been researching "the rules"
ideally, would like to keep bc as "home"
seems like mail boxes plus (aka ups) is best bet

as an aside....
i will need to be open to re-trying ups
i have found dealing with them previously (two occassions) that their fees were VERY high
(this was related to buying something in the states and the only delivery choice was using ups)

regards, peter

pdq said:

i will need to be open to re-trying ups
i have found dealing with them previously (two occassions) that their fees were VERY high
(this was related to buying something in the states and the only delivery choice was using ups)

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Ah, UPS' infamous $30 brokerage fees.    If I'm buying something from the US and they want to send it via UPS I politely ask them to send it USPS (U.S. Postal Service).  If they insist on UPS I tell them I will buy it from someone else.  And I do.

The reason why UPS is liked down there is they will also do pickup.    And from what little I've read the USPS also can have significant lineups.  I don't think they've moved to the retail outlet model that Canada Post has which means that lineups in Canada are usually very short if non existent.

Tony_Alberta said:

Ah, UPS' infamous $30 brokerage fees.    If I'm buying something from the US and they want to send it via UPS I politely ask them to send it USPS (U.S. Postal Service).  If they insist on UPS I tell them I will buy it from someone else.  And I do.

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Exactly my dislike for UPS
I now do the same thing Tony.
(and my experience with the US Postal Service has been excellent)