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25, and live in SF. No drivers license. Well I had one, but it had expired and I never bothered renewing. I've only personally had to drive a car once in the la
by nemothekid 9y ago
25, and live in SF. No drivers license. Well I had one, but it had expired and I never bothered renewing. I've only personally had to drive a car once in the last 4 years. I recently took a job in the Peninsula, where my commute is now Lyft -> Caltrain -> Lyft, which given the cost of parking in my building turns out to still be cheaper than owning a car - this might be an equation unique to SF.
The only downside of not having a license is getting into bars. Bartenders don't like expired ids and I've been looking into getting a new one.
- unethical_ban 9y agoI'm surprised - most bars I know either don't card because they're upscale enough to not worry about minors, or they don't accept any expired ID (or sometimes even other states). In Texas, a state ID can be issued that is identical to a DL but with a different title. Costs something like $10-20. Or get your passport, but that's $160 with the book + card.
- nemothekid 9y agoI've been using my Passport (card) and that was convenient, however I lost my wallet recently - I've been using my Passport, but if I were to lose that, then I'd be a bit more worried. As far as carding goes, it depends on the establishment. Most bars I go to, don't card, but when they do it's a situation that can mess up your night.
- batbomb 9y agoYou could get a passport card too, it's only $55.
- Tushon 9y agoOP: >I've been using my Passport (card) and that was convenient, however I lost my wallet recently
- trebeling 9y agoI was told by a bouncer that this is not technically a valid ID for bars in WA, though was let in.
- unethical_ban 9y agoHow is a federal ID with photo and DOB not a valid ID?? Holy heck.
- praneshp 9y agoYou can also get a state ID; that way you can uphold your no license principle as well as get into bars. But if I went all the way to the DMV for a state ID and there was no appointment required for a drive test I'd just get a license.
- ghaff 9y agoThe thing for me is that, if I were living in that area, I'd be driving into the Santa Cruz mountains, Big Sur, the Sierras, etc. all the time. Which you really can't do unless you drive or someone else drives you.
- nemothekid 9y agoSure, and if I shared your hobbies, I'd probably have trouble wrapping my head around how people could live without a license too.
- ghaff 9y agoFor me, the natural areas would be pretty much the only reason I could possibly think of that would make me even consider living in the Bay Area.
- nostrademons 9y agoHeh. My wife & in-laws went with me to watch the Perseids in the Santa Cruz mountains. While we were there, we met a couple young women who had Ubered in from San Francisco. They got there fine, but there was no cell reception where we were, so their apps didn't work, so they were trying to find someone to hitchhike home with. We had a full car (and were going the other way) so we couldn't take them, but I hope they managed to get home safely.
- carb 9y agoRenting a car is actually very cheap once you turn 25. Renting a car on the weekends, every weekend is also cheaper than owning a car.
- ghaff 9y agoSure. Subject to the other reasons you may want your own vehicle. But the discussion was about not having a driver's license. I fully agree that, for a lot of people, using some combination of rentals, Zipcar, and ride hail services makes a lot of sense.
- 9y ago
- bsurmanski 9y agoFYI, you can get a California ID card; identical to a driver license without the permission to drive. https://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/dmv/detail/idinfo/idcard https://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/dmv/detail/idinfo/idcard