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Thursday, March 30th, 2006 -- J. DoeBuzzurro and I are renting a casita, a guesthouse in New Mexico. The owners of the house use the house mailbox to receive their mail and requested that Buzzurro and I get a PO Box somewhere.
“No problem’ we both naively answered.
Today Buzzurro went to the Post Office to rent one…or so he thought.
“We can’t rent you a box unless you show 2 proofs of New Mexico residency.’ replied the clerk.
Is it just New Mexico, or is it the rule in ANY state that you have to show 2 proofs of residency in order to get a PO box? How do you even show residency if you can’t get your mail anyway? Luckily for us we can still get mail at my cousin’s house, but since our new place will be about 40 minutes away it will hardly be convenient.
New Mexico may be a beautiful state, but the level of non-functioning bureacracy is absurd.
I don’t remember any problems at all in New Jersey, It may have many unasthetic zones, but at least bureacratically speaking, things run smoothly.
In order to become verifiable citizens of New Mexico and prove residency you need to have at least 2 documents to prove that you really are staying in New Mexico. These documents seem to vary from government office to government office.
For example, one office was perfectly happy with our handwritten lease agreement. Another office was not since it wasn’t typed or notarized.
One office would not accept our printed bank statement from the local bank here in NM with a NM address written on it. They insisted that only a MAILED bank statement, complete with envelope and postmark would be acceptable.
Another office said that the printed statement from a local bank would be just as acceptable to them as a mailed bank statement.
One office told us that the copy of our car insurance cards with the NM address would be fine. Another saw that in the fine print somewhere were written the words ‘State of New Jersey’ so anything else on the card is invalid.
One asked for a copy of Buzzurro’s and my marriage certificate, which we both couldn’t even figure out why.
So to sum up this post, we are residents of nowhere.
I’ve never heard of that but I’ve also never been in that situation. How weird and convoluted can you get!? How are you going to prove residency w/o an address??
Unfettered bureaucracy, once the virus of Europe, has arrived and is thriving on American shores. It can be slowed by not cooperating, giving false information, losing forms, filing changes, filing complaints- - -. This sounds like discrimination against Italians!
Hi Deborah,
Lucky for us that we can use my cousin’s address, but it is kind of backwards in my opinion to use an address as a residence where you don’t reside.I don’t know what people without residences do. Most apartments or homes don’t require that you get a PO Box to receive mail,but we are renting a casita (guesthouse) from the owners who currently use the address.
Hi Ray,
Ha Ha Ha. .Maybe Buzzurro brought the bureacracy with him.
you know, they do that to get a video rental membership in austin…
good luck and dont forget the lotion! the air is soooo dry…
First, congrats on your new job and move. Hope you like living in NM. I have never been there, but have always wanted to go. Maybe someday.
“level of non-functioning bureacracy is absurd.”
Is it making you homesick for Italy? hehehehe
Second….The hot cat.
There is a female cat who lives in the house next to ours. Every so often (for a couple of days) you can hear her outside screaming bloody murder. I used to run to the window to check if she was hurt, but now I know that she is just looking for a date. Our two male cats are indoor cats ONLY and are BOTH fixed. For me, this is the best solution. I don’t worry about them getting hit by a car or killed by a dog AND they are always clean and bug free. GREAT PETS! But you should see the looks on their faces when they hear “Miss Heat” outside making a fuss!
Cyn
PS. How is Buzzurro liking living in the US?
So sorry to hear things are such a hassle in NM. I guess you can’t escape it anywhere. Drop me an email with your new number and I will give you a call soon.
Ciao.
Sounds all to familiar, New Mexico and Italy related in some way?!?
Italians appear to be invading New Mexico. This is similar to the UFO visitations experienced in Roswell, New Mexico, and the first atom bomb explosion at Alamagordo, New Mexico.
Roswell reports activity in the sky and sightings of the Flying Buzzurro Brothers. Stay tuned.
Sorry, false alarm, it was the “Flying Burrito Brothers” that flew by.
Congrats on the new job. RY lived in Santa Fe for one year. It’s the poorest state in the USA, so, keep that in mind. Where is the new job? Intel?
Where ARE you guys?
Cyn
I think I’ve felt the same way and sort of still do until I’m “official” with all my paperwork complete.
Very good reading. Peace until next time.
WaltDe