15. Drivers License
The German Drivers License lasts forever, but it will take forever to get one! This is one of my most excruciating experiences. I tried to plan ahead getting an international drivers permit at AAA before coming here and getting a Clearance letter from the Sheriff’s station stating I did not have any warrants or arrests in America. Now, we wouldn’t have made such a big deal over the process of getting a drivers license, but lemme tell you it costs anywhere between $2-3000 Euros/3-4500 USD yes that much to get your license. It can be weeks of driving school, written test in German of course and it is pretty difficult to pass I hear. The bureaucracy in Germany takes forever to do anything and they really don’t care if you’re without a license for 2-3 months, or inconvenienced in any way, because in their country, it’s THEIR way or the Highway! So after 6 mos of legally driving with a permit and extension with a temp license, we had to figure out the license situation. Unfortunately, for whatever reason, there are few states incl. Alabama, Wyoming and Kentucky that have reciprocity agreements with Germany, but any major state like California, New York or Texas you have to take all the driving and written tests and fees. How silly is that?!!