DMV

"You must fill out form A38 if you want
to register a vehicle here."

Today I learned that there is no way for me to register a vehicle in Massachusetts as someone without proof of residence. I knew it wouldn't go without some friction, but I didn't think that there was absolutely no way around it. Maybe that was too much spontaneity. Not much of a problem, however. The first part of the tour is supposed to have a historical character, and Boston had to be in that, anyway. I am enjoying my time here and seeing some great historical landmarks.

But at some point I'll need a bike, so let's go to New York. According to my internet research they don't have a residency requirement. You might ask “Chris, didn't you prepare your trip?” Well, I admit that I didn't get into all the formal details on the different DMV pages for the individual states, but I did my research, I looked up what I need in terms of registration and insurance, the requirements of insurance and title of ownership / manufacturer's certificate of origin for registration, checked with the internet pages of the German and American automobile clubs and the American embassy, I spoke to people who did it before, but apparently I still underestimated the bureaucracy of American local government... ...OK, I didn't prepare too well.

Still, it's baffling how some things are done over here. Just take the fact that there is no central registry of citizens and their residence, so everything works on a rather sketchy workaround basis. In order to prove your residency, there is a host of different documents, ranging from a rental contract to utility bills to a drivers license and even a damn postmarked letter or supermarket check cashing card. These documents are then weighted with a point value, and you need to bring enough documents to reach a certain threshold above which you are considered a resident of that place. It works the same for proving your identity. And then add in the fact that its different in every of the fifty states. Phew!