Four months in another state -- need some various info.

In My Humble Opinion
1

I apologize if some of this is a little more GQ-ish than IMHO-ish… I really wasn’t sure, so I asked in ATMB and the general consensus seemed to be IMHO… so here we go.

I’ve lived in small Pennsylvania towns all my life, first my itsy-bitsy hometown, and now I split the time between there and my itsy-bitsy college town. But, this summer, I’m moving in with a friend of mine from school for the duration of summer break – she lives in Rochester, NY. I’m moving up there a week after the semester is over, the second weekend of May, after going home for that week to settle any home things that need to be settled. But… this seems like it should be much more complicated than it’s been so far. So I have a few kinda info things and a few kind of imho things…

– Taxes: I’m getting a job up there, have already been actively searching and going through processes and such for the past month and a half or so. I’m wondering about the state taxes that I’d have to pay. Will I have to fill out separate forms and file a NY state tax return on the money I earn in NY? I’m really not sure about this stuff, anyone’s experiences would be helpful.

– Driving: I am assuming, since I will only be living there for approx. 4 months, and my primary residence is still in PA, my PA driver’s license will be sufficient for all driving purposes and such? I know that if I move up there permanently, as I’m considering doing after graduation, I would have to get a NY license at some point, but for these 4 months? What exactly is the protocol on that?

– Mail: I’m pretty sure my college lets you specify what your summer address will be so they know where to send information over the summer, but what about things like credit cards, bank statements, etc.? I do all my credit card payments/statements online, so I don’t think I’ll have a problem with it, I can just have my dad pack up any paper statements and forward them up, but if anyone knows of any snags I might run into with this, it would be helpful.

– Banking: Currently, my only bank account is a checking account at my small local hometown bank. So far, when I need to make deposits at school, I’ve been able to deposit them at an ATM here, from a different bank that’s in some of the same bank networks, and I’m assuming the checks just get mailed to my bank eventually. But Rochester is much further away, and i’m not sure I’ll be able to do this. Should I just see about direct deposit for paychecks or some other method of getting them into my current account, or should I just hie my butt to a Rochester bank and open up an account there? Again, it’s a matter of what’s convenient for the moment and what’s overkill for a 4-month stay. Suggestions? Also, anyone who wants to suggest a good bank in the Rochester area with free checking, that would be nice.

Those are the things I’m specifically looking for, but it would also be helpful if anyone has any experiences with this kind of temporary moving arrangement, and could tell me about them, and enlighten me as to any special things I may have to deal with. Would appreciate it highly. :slight_smile:

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  • Taxes: if you work in NY, you’ll probably have to pay or at least file tax returns for NY, in addition to your Pennsylvannia tax requirments. This is usually a slight pain in the @ss, but not impossible. One thing you can probably expect is NY asking you for years after you’ve left about your taxes. (Note: my experience is between Ohio and Maryland, but I can’t guess it’d be much different).

  • Driving: usually this is a 30 days to six months threshold, but you can just check with whomever issues NY driver’s licenses or just take your chances and hope you never get caught.

  • Mail: check with the Post Office on forwarding your mail, they can probably handle this, but 4 months might be outside of what they’ll do for you. Worst case you can just change your address twice.

  • Banking: you can probably just use your Pennsylvannia account in New York, but many businesses may not take your checks. You can use ATM/Debit functions but the fees might be more than what you want to pay as a college student. In that case I’d open a checking account in Rochester.

Good luck.

3

USPS will forward mail for up to a year. They will also hold mail to be picked up in bulk but I believe they will only do that for a month. Contact anyone at least six weeks in advance who will be sending you bills and give them your new address and contact them again six weeks in advance to change it back. Open a bank account at a Rochester credit union (credit unions in my experience are more likely to work with you on smaller minimum balances and the like) and have your paychecks direct deposited. Out of state checking accounts are pains in the ass.

Check with your employer’s HR department about tax information, or each state’s department of revenue. Check with the New York DMV regarding driving requirements. Maybe there’s some sort of temporary permit you can use instead of having to get a NY license (giving up your PA license in the process).

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I go to college in NY, and many of my friends are from out of state and live here for 8 months or so out of the year. They never change their licenses/registrations over. My roommate has even gotten stopped by the police (broken taillight) and they didn’t seem to mind her out-of-state license and plates.

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You will be required to fill out a NYS tax form if you earn income here.

For four months, your PA license should be good enough. Since this isn’t a permanent move, you don’t have to apply for a NYS license.

Mail can be forwarded; talk to your local USPS.

Banking – get an account in Rochester. It’ll be more convenient, if nothing else – you can make deposits more easily. And you probably won’t have to pay ATM fees if you use the bank’s ATMs.