“You better get there 15 minutes before they open, RG,” warned one co-worker.
“Bring a book and a magazine, maybe a crossword, too,” counseled another.
“Just wait,” laughed a third.
They were all, to a person, dead wrong.
Time it took several years ago to surrender my Maryland driver’s license and obtain a D.C. driver’s license: 5 hours, 48 minutes. (Oh, yes, RG Daughter and I timed it as we stood in line after line that snaked down multiple hallways.)
Time it took this afternoon to surrender my D.C. driver’s license and obtain a Florida license: 10 minutes.
Longest part of the process: Waiting for D.C.’s data base to respond to the Florida computer’s request for information.
Oh, and I also registered to vote at the same time.
Yep, I’m officially here.
Comments
21 responses to “It’s Official”
Will you be voting for Bush in the next election? (or rather, is that how your ballot will end up reading?)
Florida?! Welcome to my end of the country!
I gotta say you’ve made the right choice, I have family in DC and Florida is much better (and warmer). Not sure which part of Florida your in (I’m in SW Florida moving to SE Florida) but wherever you are, we’re a friendly bunch. Hope you enjoy your new home!
Love your blog!
I’m sure that as soon as they realize their mistake, they’ll have you come back to wait the normal half-day. Boy, did they screw up! 🙂
Hi RG,
I’m a bit sad….I was hoping against hope that you had moved to Rehoboth Beach, DE – also known as the “nations summer capital”…as a long time GM of a high-end restaurant, I had hoped you had joined us……..
I love your writing, you make me smile, laugh out loud, and think…deep thoughts…..
What can I or anyone say?…you’re good!…keep it up!…and good luck!?good karma?keep putting one foot in front of the other? …………..Keep doing what you’re doing – it’s good…………..and, thank you for sharing…it makes a difference to me. Thank You, Margaret
I’m a recent transplant to FL myself (from small town Midwest), and I’m seeing quite a bit of myself in your blog…keep it up, you help to keep me smiling on days when I’m convinced that if the weather doesn’t get me, South FL drivers will 🙂
RG, it is good to hear that you are starting to feel like you are at home (at least offically). It does take a while to get use to new places and people. Keep up the blogging, I really enjoying your writing. 😀 TMR
It took me hours and hours to get my New York license, but it wasn’t quite as bad as your experience D.C. It was just line after line, but no tests (other than the eye chart)… and then waiting 4-6 weeks to get the darn thing in the mail.
In Illinois, I had to take the written test and all the regular stuff, but I was finished in less than an hour — with my official license in my wallet. Fifteen minutes after that, I had new license plates for my car. It wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be, but those written tests sure stress me out.
Congrats on being official! Florida must be doing something right.
Dealing with the DMV is never fun, glad it went so quick for you.
Joe in Vegas–Oh, Joe, the chads are so passe, yes? But I did gulp and stammer when they asked me what party affiliation….
Lauren–Welcome to the ultimate jungle, to quote so many.
Ex RM–NOOOOOOOOOO!!! It’s all okay and in my wallet!
Mags–Please email me, if you are okay with that, and let me know what restaurant. I am not there, alas, but I have fond memories of Rehobeth. I will make sure to stop in next time I am in your area, which will be soon enough.
Guppy–The breeze, the clean air–the drivers are horrible; the weather is fantastic, even now.
Merry Rose–Hello again! Thank you. I feel more like myself, and the blog continues, as it always will.
Julie–NY sounds awful. Thankfully, I took no tests in DC or FL.
Katie–I’m more than glad. I take it as a sign of good karma!
Validation of our existence – one of our primary emotional needs. I have a drivers licence therefore I am… 🙂
With luck like that you should do the lottery today!
Yes, issuing drivers licenses is the one thing the state of Florida can do. When I lived there, you could even make an appointment to get your license and skip the lines.
You pay for it when your get car inspected and get Florida tags, though (at least in Miami).
I have had it go both ways in CA. Now that we’ve moved I have to tackle the UT DMV. I’m sending hubby in first to tell me how it goes. My CA license is good until 2011, but our insurance will be cheaper if we get a UT license.. I’m told this involves taking an open book written test. The way people drive around here, I should be testing them. =)
Atlanta is only a couple of hours away from the Fla. border – we WILL have drinks someday!
too funny! I can totally see how it would take that long here.. and that DC would be the ‘hold up’ there… if you can call a 10 minute wait at the DMV a hold up! 😉
I still have my AZ license… it’s good til 2032.. YUP>> that’s no typo!
I didn’t have to take a test for that one either… I was pregnant with my now eleven year old son and we had moved from Illinois. I paid my fee and got a new license. I have lived in CA, NYC, and DC since then…. but I haven’t changed my driver’s license….. though I am a registered voter =)
class-factotum: Car inspected? Miami has not had car inspections since the mid-90’s?!
RG: Welcome to Miami!!
wahoo! just under 6 hours? MY GOD.
Well, it’s official – you are a … floridian? So, what’s next, driving low at the wheel and swearing at the dang youngens?
just checking 🙂
I miss my old MD License. Most of all, I miss going to Glen Burnie for forms… and to the Harrid Canny branch for a replacement (i.e. when it got “lost” after I turned 21 and possibly found by someone who looked a lot like me…)
Welcome to South Florida!
Interestsing. Still getting caught up but I see you are now somewhere down in my part of the world. Not sure what part you are in but Welcome to Florida! Word to the wise, DON’T count on that ten minutes thing every time. Sounds like beginners luck to me.
BD
Get this: in western Carolina where my wife and I lived for a year, the DMV was a single-wide trailer sitting a block from the county courthouse. This outpost was manned by a single police officer who administered the written test (taken on a clipboard with paper and pencil), and issued the licenses. We drove up, acquired the study booklet, sat in the car reading it for twenty minutes, then went back in and took the test. At no time while we were there did any other customers come calling.
Greatest DMV ever.