Hacker News new | ask | show | jobs
by tedmiston 2657 days ago
Just curious, how do you handle mail and packages?
2 comments

I struggled with this a lot in my first few years as a digital nomad, having mail delivered to my parents house, bills often lost, etc... Then someone told me about virtual mailboxes. https://www.postnet.com/virtual-mail/ . You pay 15 bucks a month and they can act like your home address, accepting all your mail. For an additional fee, they can either scan the mail, or forward it physically to wherever you might be at the moment.

To the outside world it looks like your permanent address. I use mine to buy health insurance through Obamacare and also have registered my car to this address.

So, I still have an unused apartment where I go collect my mail every month. Once I move out at the end of this month, I plan on sending most mail to a virtual mailbox. I may have more important things sent to friends in San Francisco.

The other big annoyance about living as a full-time nomad is laundry. So far I've managed with a mix of laundromats, laundry shops, and the occasional hotel laundry when it's reasonably priced (rarely).

I'm a nomad and I converted a lot of my wardrobe to wool with brands like Wool and Prince and Unbound. I can wear a shirt for a long time before it needs dry cleaning.

I find dry cleaning to be cheap compared to the time I would spend doing laundry activities.

Ironing an expensive dress shirt with a rusty iron at an Airbnb is not something I want to entertain.

I haven't found a good solution for workout clothes though so I usually stay in an Airbnb with at least a washer.

Not sure if there are analogous workout shirts and shorts but the ExOfficio Give-N-Go boxer briefs are the most travel friendly item I own. They're sorta like Under Armour material but even thinner and lighter so they can be hand washed or air dryed insanely fast. Definitely looking to get more clothing that fits in that category.

More info / Wirecutter review: https://thewirecutter.com/reviews/best-mens-and-womens-under...