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This is a common question that we get about living abroad.

Moving abroad is stressful.  You are uprooting your entire lives and going to a place with a different culture, and sometimes, language.  Not only are you busy with moving, but you also have to make plans about what to do with your previous lives.  Unfortunately, obligations don’t disappear when you move overseas (as much as you would like them).

When we decided to move from the United States, we became houseless.  Without a permanent residence, one of the first problems we had to solve was how to get our mail.

The common solution

The common solution would be to move all of our contact details to one of our relatives.  Basically, ask one of our parents collect all of our mail.  It seemed that there were two problems with this:

1. It would be difficult to take a look at important mail in a timely manner. (I guess we could ask them to open it up, take a picture of it and email it to us)

2. We are in our 30s and need to stop relying on our parents!

Enter Traveling Mailbox

After a bit of research, we kept coming across the company, Traveling Mailbox.  They provide a virtual mailbox that allows you to view your mail anywhere around the world. We have checked our mail from the pool in Bahrain!  The best part is that it is an actual street address, not a PO Box!

Here is a sample of the types of addresses:

How does it work?

When Traveling Mailbox receives a letter addressed to either of us, they scan the front of the envelope, and we receive an email notification that we have mail (Ah how I miss AOL!)

It usually takes a few days to process the letters but considering we are able to see our mail from across the globe, it is worth it!

Here is a look at our mailbox:

What can you do?

Traveling Mailbox allows you to do a number of different actions.

Take a look at all of the services that they provide!

Pricing

as you can see, the prices are pretty reasonable.  We only have the basic package, and we get 35 page scans per month.  We went over that a couple of times at first, but our mail has decreased rapidly over that past few months.   We also paid extra for a ‘premium address’. We decided that we wanted an address in the same state that we had just come from so we pay extra for a Florida address.  The best thing is no junk mail!

A word of caution

Just a quick word. While Traveling Mailbox can collect your mail for you, you need to fill out USPS form 1583 – Application of Delivery of Mail Through Agent to allow them to open your mail.  This form requires a Notary Public, so make sure you sign up before you leave the US or when you are back visiting!