Becoming a Georgia resident?

dani149

Aug 11, 20192 min read

Before committing to my research at the #UGA, #CollegeofEnvironmentandDesign, I found out that after being 30 days in Georgia, a foreigner will be considered a #GeorgiaResident. No biggie. Even cool. But, it actually means that you cannot drive in GA on your Croatian or International driver's license. The law is quite ambiguous: a foreigner may be allowed to drive with his/her international driver's license up to 1 year but if present in GA for 30 days or more, he/she must obtain a GA driver's license, if willing to drive, of course. And believe me, you want to. It's not that you cannot live without a car here (#AthensTransit and #UGAbuses are really good, though a bit confusing when you're new here), but this is supposed to an #experience. Meaning: back to learning how to drive! Of course, I know how to drive. Still, you have to pass the #knowledgetest, #vision, and the #roadtest, whereas, although you know the signs, you might have not be aware of Georgia driving-related laws which are an inevitable part of the test. Such as "If you are found guilty of impeding traffic by driving too slowly in the passing lane of a multilane roadway, ______ points may be added to your driving record". If you haven't studied, you wouldn't know, would you? Like it or not, you have to go through the #GADriversManual.

Next challenge: if you want to sign for the test to get the #GADriversLicense, you need to have the #SocialSecurityNumber. #Fulbright's really helpful and efficient administration (#thankyou) revised your #arrivaldocuments and applied for you to be registered in the #SEVIS system and you should get the letter to apply for the #SSN with. So far (it's been 12 days now since our arrival to the #USA), it's not in my mailbox yet. Therefore, I have to wait for it and it slows the whole process down.

Then, there's also the problem of getting a car. To be able to take the road test, you must have a car. It can be rented (still, not all rental companies allow taking the road test, so ask before renting!) or you can have your #friends lend you one (of course, given that you have friends in a totally new world!). It turns out that one get easily purchase a car either through the #Craigslist or spreading the word in the local neighbourhood. #Athenians or specifically, people in the neighborhood of #FivePoints are really, really friendly and willing to help. But, there's this loop again: in order to own a car, a foreigner must either have a #GeorgiaID or a #GeorgiaDriversLicense. Like it or not, again, you have to pass the test. And find your way through it... :)