What do Digital Nomads do with Their Mail?

But one thing we don’t have: a home address.

This is definitely a challenge sometimes, I wont sugarcoat it. No single solution seems to solve the issue entirely.

Keep reading for some of the best strategies we came up with for a digital nomad mailing address.

Mailing Address Solutions for Digital Nomads

Go Paperless

One of the key digital nomad principles: embrace minimalism.

One way to prevent needing a mailbox, is to just get rid of the amount of mail you receive. Banks, credit cards, student loans, car insurance, investments, bills and more can pretty much all go paperless. Not only that, but its better for the environment. We love mama earth.

Of course this wont completely eliminate your need for an address, but it certainly helps. But junk mail and ads somehow always track me down.

And what if you actually need to receive something physical in the mail? Or I need to snag that Black Friday deal but wont be stateside for a couple more months?

Parent’s Address

Nothing says I’m a grown adult like using your parent’s address… but here we are.

I trust them to hold most of my sensitive mail. And when I’m stateside they can send me anything important, or use it as an excuse for me to visit them. It helps in situations where the address needs to match your name, like getting a new debit card for example.

Although in general I do trust my parents, you might not want them snooping through all your mail and knowing your personal business. My parents usually don’t open anything unless I tell them to, but that’s not guaranteed. Do you want to chance it?

Trusted Friend’s Address

Due to our companies policy’s, Jack and I needed to maintain a permanent address in the city we ‘technically’ worked in, despite working remote. Luckily we had friends that were willing to hold any work-related mail. This only really mattered for me around tax season. Or if you need to collect state-specific benefits, like unemployment or maternity leave.

This one is a bit more delicate if you don’t want to burden your friends with all your random mail while you’re trapsing around the world.

This solution poses challenging when your address needs to match your name. For example, I tried to send a new credit card to my friend’s apartment so I could pick it up, but they wouldn’t accept it because my name wasn’t actually associated with the apartment.

PO Box

Keep your mail safe and secure inside a locked mailbox within a Post Office facility. You can rent a PO Box in a few steps:

1. Apply online: Find, reserve, and pay for a box at a Post Office near you.
2. Pick up your keys in person: Take your completed application and 2 forms of ID to the Post Office (where your box is) to get your keys.
3. Get mail at your convenience: Flexible hours allow you to check your PO Box on your schedule.

The main drawback of a PO Box, is that it’s still very analog. You have to physically pick up the keys, and make sure it’s in a location you frequent occasionally to clear it out. Plus you really have no idea what the contents of your mail are, so hopefully nothing time-sensitive comes through.

Boxes are available in five different sizes at varying, but affordable, price-points. However you are then limited to mail that will fit inside that particular box.

Another important thing to note: a PO Box can’t receive all mail. It can only receive mail delivered through USPS and not other carriers such as FedEx or UPS.

Amazon Hub Lockers

Obviously this one is Amazon-specific. But if you need to restock on anything while traveling, getting it sent to an Amazon Locker is super convenient and efficient.

There are tons of locations across the US, and even abroad. Amazon has expanded the Locker program in Canada, UK, France, Spain, Germany and Italy, as well as many other countries! Find an Amazon Locker near you.

I needed to go to a wedding last year but didn’t want to carry a fancy dress around in my already full suitcase. Amazon to the rescue! I ordered one and got it shipped to a Hub Locker, where I picked it up the day before the wedding. I’m living in the future, y’all.

Traveling Mailbox

Traveling Mailbox is a virtual mailbox solution specifically with travelers, van-lifers, and expats in mind.

They provide a real street address that is unique to you and as your mail arrives, they scan the outside of the envelope and then you tell them to scan the contents, forward the item, shred it, return it, or hold it.

They can even receive and hold packages.

You can view your postal mail online or, if need be, get the physical copies and packages sent to you anywhere in the world!

This was one of the first digital nomad hacks we used back when we decided to put all our belongings in storage. It was so nice having our mail stored (or shredded tbh) while being able to view each item we received online, without burdening our friends and family.

You can even have multiple people share one address, like Jack and I.

The Basic Plan starts at just $15 a month, which is ideal for most people, or the Extended Plan for $25 a month includes even more scans and envelopes if you get a lot of mail. View all Traveling Mailbox pricing.

How it Works

How does Traveling Mailbox work? Watch the short video below or read the Traveling Mailbox set-up steps.

Setting up a Traveling Mailbox is super quick and easy. And once your subscription starts, you will be sent an email with your mailbox number and address almost immediately.

Unfortunately in our situation specifically, we still needed another ‘home’ address in the cities of our companies besides just using the Traveling Mailbox (this is where our friends stepped up).

However, if your work situation is more flexible this may not be an issue as Traveling Mailbox claims to provide only real physical street addresses.

Digital Nomad Mailing Address Solutions

No address? No problem. There are a lot of options these days for those of us who choose to be house-less and live on the road.

I’ve had several bad experiences sending mail to Airbnb’s (even in the US), so even if you don’t live abroad, having an address solution is still imperative.

What should digital nomads do with their mail? Check out this simple chart.

Go Paperless	Pros: reduce the amount of mail you receive. Cons: you will still need an address solution for some mail.
Parent’s Address	Pros: address matches your name. Cons: parents snooping through your mail.
Trusted Friend’s Address	Pros: can benefit you for company mail and taxes. Cons: relying on a friend to sort your mail.
Amazon Hub Lockers	Pros: easy, convenient, efficient. Cons: only applies to Amazon packages.
PO Box	Pros: secure and inexpensive. Cons: not sure what mail you get; must pick up in person; can’t receive all mail.
Traveling Mailbox	Pros: view all mail online; option to hold, shred, or send; physical street address. Cons: might still need another ‘home’ address.

I would love to hear about any other solutions out there! Please reach out or comment below.

If this was helpful to you, you’ll love my other Digital Nomad Resource recommendations!