souls canuck

hiya

I got my Arizona Drivers License today.. yay..

got my plates, for a 2000 car costs 175 bucks.. wholly.. was not prepared for that AT ALL.. in Ontario its like 75 for your plates a yr.. anyway, that's done...

my SSN hopefully will come any day.. it's been 2 weeks.. she said up to 3..

I did get my EAD at the Tucson office same day, but that expires Sept. 18th...

I had 2 job interviews this week.. I have dropped off 2 resumes so that's a good sign I guess.. one at a radio station the other at a newspaper.. so somewhat field related.. a little stunned at the pay rate but from what I have heard, they dont pay so good in these parts

anyway.. hope everyone is well.. sounds like lots of approvals coming thru so that's good for the mood..

Heather142

Hi, SC,
So what did you have to do for your test?? Got to change our licenses over next month when we arrive. Would be interested in your experience.

Fingers crossed for your job interview. Good luck.

Heather

ian-mstm

Wow - when I left Ontario it was only $45 to renew your plates. If Arizona is anything like Kentucky, the cost will go down year by year as your car gets older. When I got Kentucky plates for my old Canadian car (a 1988 Cavalier), it cost me about $60. I bought a new car that next year and I was stunned when it cost me $195 to renew! After almost 5 years now, it's down to $140.

Capitalism... y'gotta love it!

Ian

cindyabs

In the for what it's worth department-quite possibly that charge is based on the value of the car as an ad valorem tax AND if you file your federal taxes using the long form it is tax deductible.

ian-mstm

That's true! Sheila does our taxes, and now that you mention it, I remember that we do deduct much of that cost each year.

Ian

souls canuck

I gotta admit I was shocked when I had to fork over 20 bucks for the inspector (coming from Ontario there were 2 stickers that were no longer on the door, so I needed a number 2 inspector.. this delayed the whole thing about 5 days.. I had gone on the monday and was told to come back on the friday...)

the plates are based on the value of the car.. its a 2000 model and they had it listed as an 18,000 car so I guess that's why I paid thru the nose.. still pissed at that.. I paid only 75 bucks a yr in ontario.. he said it goes down 15% a yr.. so I will be paying quite heavily for yrs to come.. oh well.

the license itself, being from canada, was a non event. I just showed up my Ontario one.. and asked if I could keep it. I had heard of many people "straight exchanging" but I didn't want to give up my cdn. one as I will be returning some day. so they took my 10 bucks and the end date on it is oct. 16th.. so only 3 months. my visa expires on Sept. 18th so I am not sure why the expiry date of oct.. I was told at first it was good for 6 months.. so I will have to return for a new one later.

the took my picture and I waited for the card.

all told it was 2 hours (less if I had had the right amount of cash.. I only had 120 bucks on me.. and my cdn. cheque was no good to them..) they also base things on who holds the lien on the car.. something new to me.. but this info wasnt asked for and when we were going over the paperwork at the end it seemed to create another hiccup.. all was well as he said "we don't want to turn your money away" so I am not sure if he let me off with something or not?

anyway.. glad to be on the road with arizona plates, a license and insurance within a month. My cdn. insurance ran out within 30 days of my departure (when you are on vacation it's good for 6 months out of the country, but when you move it's a different animal) and getting insurance in the usa creates a problem without the plates and license.. so ya gotta time it all just right.

and I should hear back about the job by tuesday. thanks for the good wishes.

Noorah101

Congratulations, Mrs. Souls! And good luck on your job interviews coming up

Best Wishes,
Rene