Residency

I officially established New Hampshire residency this week. It was a little sad, to be honest. I've been a resident of New York State for all of my twenty three years. On top of that, the NH driver license isn't nearly as cool-looking as its NY counterpart. Looking on the bright side, though, NH is a great place to live and I'm looking forward to establishing outposts of Yankee pride in territory generally considered "Red Sox Nation."

Living in Hanover for four years as an undergrad did not fully prepare me for small-town New England life. Being the site of an Ivy League college, Hanover tends to be more cosmopolitan than other parts of the state. (I mean this literally: Hanover is populated by citizens of the world.) But I'm not in Hanover anymore. On Tuesday, I paid a visit to the Enfield municipal building to obtain proof of residency so I could get my New Hampshire driver license.

"Hello, I just moved here this week, and I was wondering if I could get a proof of residency to show the DMV."
"We are the DMV."
"Great. Then can I apply for a driver license?"
"Oh, we don't do that here. You have to go to the DMV."

Eventually I not only secured the proof of residency (and, the next day, my license) but also registered to vote, obtained a transfer station permit and signed up for a library card. And don't get me wrong, I think New England and New Englanders are terrific. But before my time in New Hampshire is through, this New Yorker is going to prove that you can get there from here.