[MandieD]

Something asked on every job application form in my mid-sized Texas hometown was whether you had a valid driver’s license and a car, even for jobs where driving wasn’t your main task. A job candidate without their own car was likely to have problems getting to work on time and much less likely to be flexible.

The DPS offices have been consolidated to very efficient operations far, far from town. The service is improved if you’re a driver with an internet-connected cellphone (quick appointments! Know exactly when to show up to avoid a wait!), but hellish if neither of those things are going on for you, especially the driving bit. This is where you have to get yourself and your documentation to for any sort of ID, not just a driver’s license.

Living in a mid-sized German city where I can walk less than half a mile to a subway station and commuter rail still feels a bit magical. I sometimes go weeks without getting in the car.