Do you maintain your US drivers license?

[wise_rita]

Am I weird because I do?

I have never had anything but my parents address on my drivers license (I lived in the US for 2 years post college graduation). It's expiring in December but I can renew it from afar, as long as I get an eye test done.

I did the eye test and I'm doing the paperwork to get it renewed. I CAN'T LET IT GO! Why? I have no explanation.

We are abroad indefinitely, so it's not like I'm keeping it valid because I plan to return in a few years.

Anybody else weird like me?

[allibally]

I still don't want to change my Wisconsin license to an Illinois one. I get it...

I know I totally need to. But I hate the thought of switching to a FIB license.

[expatjen]

Yes I do. Makes renting cars while back in the US so easy.

[violetsmommy]

I've been thinking about this. Wondering if and how I could. I definitley want to, right now we are here for at least two years but we know we wanna go back I just think it'd be easier keeping it.

[centralperk]

I do. My parents and sister moved to NY and so I changed my license to a NY license. But I was the first to do that, so for a while, I was the only one with a NY license but the only one who didn't actually live there. Haha!

There is a good chance will will move back at some point, so that is part of the reason. The other part is just that I want to have it.

[potatopie]

My US license is all I have. Driving tests are really hard here. Also, flashing a Western license makes it easier with the cops (I'm just a nice tourist, right?).

[Cheesecake]

I will maintain it as long as I can, despite the fact that I now have an NL one as well.

My parents will likely retire outside of the US in a few years, so I guess I'll have to give it up then...

Sent from my phone, please excuse typos!

[wise_rita]

May 24, 2012 2:58:34 GMT -5 potatopie said:

My US license is all I have. Driving tests are really hard here.

This is a very good point. Had I not had my US drivers license I don't know how I would have gotten my Australian one. Converting it makes the process so much easier, I imagine, than starting from scratch in other countries.

Yay, finally, a valid excuse!

[ExpatFamily06]

I keep mine. I just can't let it go. Plus, when I go home, it helps that I have it because my mom puts me on her insurance so I can use her car.

[pittpurple]

I only have a US driving license. It's actually expired now but I'm in the system so I can renew it next time I'm back. Although if all goes well, that won't actually be for a while. I need to figure that out actually. We keep talking about getting UK licenses but I'm a terrible driver and would never be able to pass the tests without lessons and we have no intention of getting a car so...
That was really long!

[bugabean]

I didn't, but I'm definitely the weird one. I never learned how to drive and wasn't really comfortable having one in the first place. Plus, having one is absolutely no advantage whatsoever in Denmark. I'd have to start from scratch either way if I want a DK one. It expired shortly after I moved here and I don't care. I don't know if having an expired one makes it easier to renew, but I doubt I'd go back to the same state anyway.

[clogged]

Nope. I am CA native. The minute I took up residence outside the state, my license was invalid. I would have to go through a pretty elaborate lie to keep it, and I am too goody-goody Sunday school for that.

[dorothyinAus]

I don't have a Driver's License, but I do have my Louisiana State ID. I intend to keep it. I still maintain a residence in LA -- I vote there, I pay taxes there, I have property there, so it makes sense for me to keep my State ID. Besides, it's the only ID I have other than my passport.

[travelingturtle]

I do. I haven't had to maintain it too much so far though.

[frlcb]

I always did

[crimsonandclover]

When I got my German one, I had to turn in my IL one. I didn't have to take either the written or the driving test (all the US states have different agreements, but I got lucky). I thought about telling IL on my next visit home that I had lost my license so I could get another one, but DH frowned at that. Now my IL one has long since expired, and if I ever want to get another one, I'm guessing it's going to be a huge PITA trying to explain that I have indeed always had a valid driver's license (the qualification in IL for not having to take the driving test) because Germany's licenses don't expire.

[mrsukyankee]

I just have my UK one. I let my PA license expire as I didn't want to have to pay PA taxes (or deal with filling it out at least).

[mouseinlux]

I had to give mine up to get my Lux license but I'm not American and no longer have the right paperwork to renew it anyway

[wise_rita]

Holy shit I hadn't even thought about state taxes.

ND has a state income tax, and I vote absentee from my home country. What tax implications could my license bring me?

I've been abroad for almost 5 years now and haven't heard boo about it.

[lolo]

Yup, I've kept mine current while here. No way in hell do I want to re-take the driving test, even if US driving tests tend to be comparatively easy.

[Deleted]

I had to turn in my Canadian license in order to get my US drivers license and that was the only way to get insured on the vehicle.

[popcorn]

May 24, 2012 1:39:04 GMT -5 wise_rita said:

Am I weird because I do?

I have never had anything but my parents address on my drivers license (I lived in the US for 2 years post college graduation). It's expiring in December but I can renew it from afar, as long as I get an eye test done.

I did the eye test and I'm doing the paperwork to get it renewed. I CAN'T LET IT GO! Why? I have no explanation.

We are abroad indefinitely, so it's not like I'm keeping it valid because I plan to return in a few years.

Anybody else weird like me?

I wish I was weird like you because then I could convert it to a German one, but since I'm silly and figured in Spain I couldn't use it I didn't renew when I could've and now it's expired. So I am going in August to hopefully renew it, though it's been expired over a year so I'm not sure how that will work.

Bah!

[americaninoz]

yes I maintain mine with my parent's address
you reminded me acutally - I need to find it before we go to the US in 2 weeks.....
I looked last night and can't find it?!?!?!
shoot - I need to have a really good look next week.....

[ktkl09]

Yes, I keep my mine with my mom's address. It makes things much easier in the US. American cans never find my birthday on my Swiss ID .

[allibally]

May 25, 2012 0:24:20 GMT -5 @ktkl09 said:

Yes, I keep my mine with my mom's address. It makes things much easier in the US. American cans never find my birthday on my Swiss ID .

Haha. Ironically the Swiss could never find my birthdate on my US license. I also have one of those funky vertical ones. They always looked at me confused.

[wise_rita]

I always hand over my license pointing to my DOB if I'm outside of my state or surrounding states.

This was, of course, when I was at an age when I got carded.

[Deleted]

I can't get a French license without redoing drivers ed (had to exchange it within the first year in france and missed the deadline), so I keep my american license. I will be renewing it in two years i believe.

[allibally]

Rita. I found it bizarre that I got carded in Zurich. The beer age is 16. I never just went in to buy beer. Always got 5 days of groceries and 1-2 cans of beer. Sometimes I was carded most of the time not I suppose. They didn't really have a strong carding policy like the US.

[grosnl19]

Yes we do because we are living overseas temporarily.

[Deleted]

Don't tell anyone OK but I did while in the NL because I failed my driver's test like 3 times and didn't want to have to take it again
My husband had to turn his in when he got his NL license and when we got back, our motor vehicle office knew the NL had it and made him take the written and driving test over again. He didn't fail.