Transition back to the states

I applied to school back in the states in LA. I was wondering if anyone has any tips or advice on how to make the transition smoothly.
First, my license was suspended, now it’s not. I have a non DL ID from Florida. How do I go about getting my license back now. Do I have to retake the DL test?

It looks like I will be staying at an hotel before I find an apartment as well.

Lastly I will need a car. I do not have car insurance but what I understand is I need a car insurance before I buy a car? So how does this work?

[quote=“Andrew0409”]I applied to school back in the states in LA. I was wondering if anyone has any tips or advice on how to make the transition smoothly.
First, my license was suspended, now it’s not. I have a non DL ID from Florida. How do I go about getting my license back now. Do I have to retake the DL test?

It looks like I will be staying at an hotel before I find an apartment as well.

Lastly I will need a car. I do not have car insurance but what I understand is I need a car insurance before I buy a car? So how does this work?[/quote]

Suspended or expired? I’ve never heard of a DL being suspended, unless you were fined and didn’t pay the fine?

If it’s expired, I guess the only way would be to visit the DMV (or maybe call them before going). Make sure when you do go to the DMV, you go with your X points of ID. (X being the number of necessary forms/pictures IDs needed to prove that you’re you) I know this differs in every state, but I remember New Jersey being 6-8 points. Just make sure if you go that you have ALL your documents available. Going there and realizing you do not have everything and have to come back and queue again is quite possibly worse than going through the 7 gates of hell.

However, this may pose a problem if you do not have a resident address in LA, since you have a Florida ID. You can try to first renew your Florida driver’s license via mail and then change it to a California license when that one expires? Unless you do not have any documentation stating you’re a Florida resident?

I think sorting out the DL first then moving onto buying car insurance and a car would be the right choice. However, maybe you need a permanent resident address before doing any of that? You probably don’t want to register your DL or any registration to your hotel address only to have to go back and change it to your permanent address.

Sorry if the above was not helpful, but maybe you can try to PM tommy525 or maybe Hokwongwei, I know Hok just moved back (but currently inactive on the forums) and tommy525 has been back for awhile.

It’s pretty common for a DL to be suspended if you rack up driving offenses.

What school in LA (Los Angeles?) are you going? Are you familiar with the areas in LA?

First things first. There are lots of room for rent on Craigslist with no lease (month-to-month). Unless you are super-rich and exactly know where you are staying, I suggest you go this route after a few days in the hotel. Once you know where you really want to stay, then rent an apartment, because apartment usually comes with 1 year lease minimum.

No. You can get the car first without insurance. Are you looking for brand new or used? Dealer or owner? There is Uber/Lyft to take you around when you are carless. Take advantage of airport shuttles.

Regarding Driver License:
I guess your FL license needs to be valid to be able to transfer, if not, you apply just like a new driver. I assume you have US passport and social?

The OP doesn’t seem too interested since he hasn’t responded since his original post on Nov 13. He didn’t do any research anyway before he posted the questions. Hello Andrew0409 what’s up did you make it back to LA?