Pulaski

They are? Looking over my shoulder was a key part of my learning to drive and road test in the UK.

The OP should bear in mind that in the US you can make multiple failures in your road test and still be passed, so long as your driving isn't actually dangerous or illegal, such as not coming to a complete halt at a Stop sign. The state road tests in the US are to an entirely different standard from those administered in the UK.

Bob

Up in Maine, things probably balanced out.

Down in the metrowest area of MA...it's generally more expensive.

username.exe

Random things that you might not expect can be wildly expensive.

Drove to a couple of stores looking for tumeric a while ago. Just a small pot. Cheapest I could find was $4 plus tax . But the curries are worth it.

A major saver for me here is my commute on mass transit (I get the trolley and a decent discount through my employer) costing exactly $18 p/month. In London that expense was $350 - $400 p/month.

Bob

Down my way, those kind of spices are dirt cheap but out of the world expensive up where we used to live in Maine.

Random things that have gotten expensive over the last year are eggs. A half dozen last summer was $1.30 and now, the minging battery eggs are $3...never mind the fancy farm fresh organic stuff.

As for transit, those are the rates you'd be lucky to pay for parking to get on the transit, if you paid up for a annual rate....and I'd like my car not to be battered at the end of the day paying those kind of parking rates

BubbleChog

For the spices and blends I can't get at the ethnic supermarket I use Merchants of Exquisite Spices, Herbs and Seasonings | Chicago | Milwaukee | Evanston | Geneva

@Bob

I keep seeing signs in food places apologising for no eggs due to a national shortage because of avian fllu
Egg prices in the US nearly double after outbreak of avian flu | US news | The Guardian

loubiblu

^^This

As new arrivals I went to our local 'run of the mill' store - Jewel. $5+ per spice! No cheaper at Target either. Called into the local WholeFoods for meat and saw their weigh your own section. Got a range of spices (cumin, tumeric, fenugreek etc) all for under 50c each! The per oz cost was about 60-80c as opposed to $4+ for pre-packaged stuff. They're in ziploc bags until I can bring myself to go on a trip to IKEA

zzrmark

Is this applicable to driver's with a foreign driving licence? When visiting on a VWP I can drive for the 90 days without fouling legislation (so long as I've got a full UK licence). The OP will still possess his UK licence and can drive on it for 30 days (or whatever it happens to be dependent upon which state you're in) after receiving his visa. Does he not then find himself in the odd position of holding both a learner's permit and a UK one which is still permissible to use?
(Not so much of an issue where I'll be doing mine as the test centre uses the adjoining road system for a baseball field [ie. car park!] and doesn't go near the adjacent State Road and it's Florida )

Pulaski

I think technically you're deemed to be a learner when you arrive for your test no matter that you have a full foreign licence. I drove myself, but my wife was with me in the car and she had a full NY license already, but I don't recall any attempt to verify her driving credentials to supervise me driving to the test center.

I was also driving a rental car and the examiner didn't question that either, though I suspect he did not realise it was a rental car.

username.exe

This is an interesting point.
I drove myself in my wife's car, took the test and drive home again. Nobody batted an eyelid. I do recall something about being able to demonstrate I was insured to drive the vehicle, if the examiner asked.

rpjs

I *think* if you're on an NYS Learner's Permit but hold a full foreign licence you're excused certain restrictions such as a supervising driver. The thing about driving to the test is that in NYS learners are prohibited from driving in a designated DMV test area (which given that they're public roads, must suck if you live by one!).

When I did my road test my instructor got me to drive almost the whole way there, then pulled into a parking lot and got us to swap seats. He wouldn't let me back in the driver's seat until we were at the head of the line and he was adamant that I shouldn't as much as touch the steering wheel until the examiner got in the car and instructed me to turn on the ignition.

Of course, I suspect that these things may vary in practice depending on location - it might be our local road test office (Yorktown Heights) is more anal than others.

Pulaski

I definitely drove to the test center, in Herkimer, NY. It sounds like I probably shouldn't have.

rpjs

Well, if it's any consolation, my instructor got me to drive briefly on the Taconic on the way to the test, because not doing so would have taken us by a very circuitous route, and NY learners aren't supposed to drive on parkways either. Interstates, perfectly legal though!

Pulaski

Yeah, well parkways are much more dangerous than interstates! Two lanes of traffic barreling along a single lane width of road.

There is a north-bound parkway on-ramp just north of Valhalla IIRC which is about 50ft long and merges into a sweeping right bend emerging from under the bridge over the parkway, so there is no view, either directly or in the door mirror of the traffic you have to merge into. The only technique that seemed to work was to stand on the accelerator as you turned onto the ramp, and hope there was a space to meege into when you reached the end.

n lon to ny

hahaha - thanks guys - turmeric and terrifying junctions sound great. speaking of IKEA...... do they deliver in the US if you order online? I don't think I can face going in person.......

rpjs

Yes, but it can be pricy.