The DMV

So today is the day I officially became a Vermonter...well, at least according to the state of Vermont! You can tell a lot about a state from it's DMV. For instance, the DMV in Florida was in a strip mall, naturally, like 95% of everything in the state is in a strip mall. It oddly always reminded me of a hospital waiting room. Lots of elderly folks, screaming children, and generally disgruntled people.

Vermont on the the other hand...let's just say it was a completely different experience...

Step 1: Find DMV office.

Easy enough, right? I live in the 6th largest city in the state there's got to be one somewhere downtown....or apparently in the next village over in a "mobile unit" that is open twice a week for a 6 hour window of time. Hmm.

Step 2: Find DMV office.
So I took off work this morning to drive to Dummerston. Right before I left I plopped myself down in front of the computer to get an address to plug into my GPS. According to the Vermont DMV website, the Dummerston Mobile Unit is on Route 5....no address, just Route 5. It was like my computer was saying "yup, just take a right at the old Johnson farm and you should see it just past the dead tree on your right side." Why has this website been able to get away with just printing "Route 5" for an address? Probably because Vermonters don't question it. "Oh it's on Route 5? I'm sure I'll see it." Evoking the Vermont spirit this is what I had to say to myself--"I'm sure I'll just see it.". So I hopped in my car and started north on Route 5...hoping to eventually see it.

Step 3: Find the DMV
It's a good thing they had a picture on the website of the building that the mobile DMV was located in because they sure didn't have a sign on it. As I zoomed past it, I thought, "Hm, that non-descript building in the field looks like that non-descript picture on the internet."

After pulling a U-ie in the Colonel's Tavern (Karaoke Wednesdays!) parking lot across from the KOA I found my way back to the what apparently was the DMV office...located behind the "District 2" garage. I parked in front of what appeared to be an outhouse (no joke, would have taken a pic if I hadn't forgotten my phone), and proceed to an open door in the basement of the building.

Step 4: Sign away your first born child
Upon entering the basement office, rather than "taking a number," I signed in at an unmanned desk...which seem wholey ineffective because a guy sitting behind a desk with the print out "4" taped to the front came over and asked me if I was next...yes I suppose I was. I'm finding Vermonters like somewhat organized chaos...or I guess what they actually like is believing in the civility of others, which is a great thing. For example, in downtown Brattleboro there is a 5 way stop/intersection with no stop sign or traffic light. People just negotiate their way through it. Two cars will go from the north, another will turn right...it's organized chaos based on civility.   So the list gave the resemblance of order, but even had there been no list we would have very civilly waited our turn in the order we came in. This would not have happened in Florida.

I, no joke, had to bring 9 different documents with me in order to register my car and get a license in Vermont, the most surprising of which was two papers proving I was now resident of the great state of Vermont. Is the state really that exclusive about who they let in? Isn't me moving to the middle of nowhere proof enough? Florida is such a transient state (nobody who lives in Florida is actually from Florida), they're not really choosy about who they let in.

So a few more signatures, an eye test, and a picture later, I'm officially a citizen of the Green Mountain state! I wonder if I will now have the power to find things without having a specific address....

So what does Vermont's DMV tell us about the state? If you can get through all the inconvenient obstacles we put in your way--including finding our office--I guess we'll let you stay.