How'd You Move Everything?

[Tala202 27]

I didn't bother, left a lot behind, in the end it was simpler.

Definitely a good idea

Uhaul. Cost about 1600 total with gas for a 18hr trip. If you have a place to store some of it take it in trips. You have 10 years to move your things. You'll soon find out whats most important.

Ahh I wish that were the case But my living situation makes it so that I'd have to do it all in one go. I agree with finding out what's most important though

Just make sure you're allowed to drive over the border and dropoff is fine in the US.

I agree with NLR though - bringing your stuff gradually is good - just remember to bring everything really important on the first trip since you won't be back home for a while.

That's a good point. I'd definitely have to check about that. And I'll have to go through my life and see what's important

Just hire a moving company and let them take care of it.

I moved a lot of stuff from Toronto to NYC for $1300 (including sofa, bed, mattress and about 8 big uhaul boxes) Yes it was a cheap deal but they took longer (about 14 days because they have to consolidate your stuff with others.

Go online and call some cross border moving companies.

The other thing you can do is that you can fly over and usually its much cheaper to pay the extra cost of additional suitcase (on international flights its only $75 but I think with US flights its $50 per suit case with 50lbs allowed limit) $50 per suitcase is way cheaper than hiring a company to move your stuff. If you have heavy boxes then this option will probably not work.

You can even try shipping companies (not moving companies) that can move your boxes for a $100-$125 ( I shipped boxes to my sister from Toronto to Calgary with blender and kitchen stuff through Fedex for about $200 per box - the boxes WERE HEAVY!) So you can fly with suitcases and ship the remaining boxes through shipping companies. Moving companies can be tricky so this might be a better option since you have no furniture.

Is it $100-$125 per box? And do you know if there's a limit to how many additional suitcases you can bring onto flights?

you can get a decent Volvo stationwagon (940 or 740) for 1400 usd, drive it back and forth, then sell it. it'll hold yer stuff, I'm a thinkin...

Ahh that stuff's too complicated for me.

Why doesn;t he rent a Uhaul van in VA - drive up, collect you and your stuff and drive back?

The rent and mileage are slightly problematic so we wanna see if there's a more economical way.

Thanks for the replies guys. I'm still torn between throwing a whole bunch of stuff out and just re-buying , or using a combination of shipping and everything. Alternatively, anyone have any idea how many boxes could fit into a Toyota Camry?

[Udella&Wiz 325]

A fun side note - if you think UHaul rental is expensive get ready for living in the Northern Virginia area, I see you list Arlington as your destination. We're a tad further out in Centreville/Chantilly but life overall is a expensive business in these here parts.

Edited March 26, 2014 by Udella&Wiz

[Tala202 27]

A fun side note - if you think UHaul rental is expensive get ready for living in the Northern Virginia area, I see you list Arlington as your destination. We're a tad further out in Centreville/Chantilly but life overall is a expensive business in these here parts.

Ahh tell me about it! I've slowly been adjusting to the idea of paying $1800 for a one bedroom

It's just difficult now since I'm not working.. and when did CAD drop so much in value?!

[Udella&Wiz 325]

Ahh tell me about it! I've slowly been adjusting to the idea of paying $1800 for a one bedroom

It's just difficult now since I'm not working.. and when did CAD drop so much in value?!

Cross your fingers by the time you move the dollar is about even.

[O&Z 1]

we used upack service from ABF and it was great. you load it and they drive it and you unload it.

depending on your location, it is not very much at all and you can get a free quote on their website.

bc my hubby immigration wasn't throught yet - we filled out the immigration/moving form under my name and we claimed it as 'marital property'. this is what the border agent suggested i do - it also helps to have an itemized list of each box - and their contents.

hope that helps. best of luck.

[Tala202 27]

Cross your fingers by the time you move the dollar is about even.

Well at that point I'm gonna hope for the opposite, since it'll make it easier to earn USD and pay student loans off in CAD

[Udella&Wiz 325]

Well at that point I'm gonna hope for the opposite, since it'll make it easier to earn USD and pay student loans off in CAD

Cuts into my available $$$ for shopping at Reitmans when I go back home!

[Flames9_RN 358]

if you are moving to Arlington VA and going to rent an Apartment--check out Barton house apartments! Awesome apartments, underground parking, close to the metro and the people that work there are awesome! Usually a waiting list to get in as it is so great and much cheaper than other apartments in the area. http://bartonhouse.com/ Doesn't have in-suite laundry--but only 25 cents to wash and dry (according to a friend that still lives there) If I were you--I would get on to the waiting list--and check back fairly often! Thats how we got in--just kept checking back!! like a 5 min walk to Metro and close to many shops/restaurants

Edited March 27, 2014 by Flames9_RN

[Lakehouse 293]

we used upack service from ABF and it was great. you load it and they drive it and you unload it.

depending on your location, it is not very much at all and you can get a free quote on their website.

bc my hubby immigration wasn't throught yet - we filled out the immigration/moving form under my name and we claimed it as 'marital property'. this is what the border agent suggested i do - it also helps to have an itemized list of each box - and their contents.

hope that helps. best of luck.

*ears perked up*... you say you were able to Upack the belongings prior to actual immigration by claiming it as marital property? Now there's something I didn't realize was possible! I thought I'd have to struggle with attempting to pack things up, have it stored by upack until I crossed the border and could send them/ call them with the information that I'd crossed the border (must say I'm still vague on exactly how it works)... as I understood it couldn't cross before me.

You've given me some hope I could send our stuff earlier to my husband - or rather, it seems he would have to fill out the paperwork and organize the move of stuff from here to the US.

Did I understand correctly?

Do you have more advice on what you did?

[O&Z 1]

Lakehouse...

yes, it is technically true that your stuff cannot move before you.

but when we were trying to figure out the move, i spoke with a border agent on the phone and she recommended we move everything under my name and just have general stuff in there. she advised not to have any obvious things of his in there (men's clothing).

we had a weird situation - he was in ontario, canada and i lived in buffalo, ny and we were both (eventually) moving to NC ; all of the main furniture, etc was in Canada - so that's how i moved everything to NC as i was waiting for his immigration to go through.

the upack people will present the paperwork on behalf of your spouse and honestly, they rarely check the inventory - but it's good to have the list in case they do decide to tear it apart.

just have your spouse fill out the form and call cbp for help filling it out.

gluck!

[Kathryn41 3,205]

When I moved down, my husband flew to Detroit, rented a van at the airport, and drove to my place in Chatham. We loaded up the van (I had a lot of things so also used a moving company that came later) with my cats, my plants that I was taking (phytosanitary certificates in hand), and what I needed until the moving van arrived. We then drove down to Georgia and returned the van locally. It was extremely economical, if cost is one of your primary concerns.

Your husband could also rent the van locally, drive up, load up the van with you and your belongings and then return to Virginia. You may want to price that option. You would pay a daily rate to rent the vehicle (and you can get good deals on-line at places like Priceline.com, etc ). and your gas. It would be a long day's drive but you could do it.

Edited March 31, 2014 by Kathryn41

[canada_socks 97]

Is there someone you know in the US with a larger vehicle you could borrow? I was like you, no furniture to bring, just boxes of stuff. We borrowed my mother in laws station wagon. My (now) husband drove it up to Canada, we loaded it up with as much as we could (leaving a few boxes behind at my parents house), and drove back down to Maryland with it. We had a 12 hour drive, and also didn't want to pay to rent a uhaul.

[floridaboundcanuk 7]

Cross your fingers by the time you move the dollar is about even.

It's not forecast to flirt with par until the end of the year.

[Tala202 27]

if you are moving to Arlington VA and going to rent an Apartment--check out Barton house apartments! Awesome apartments, underground parking, close to the metro and the people that work there are awesome! Usually a waiting list to get in as it is so great and much cheaper than other apartments in the area. http://bartonhouse.com/ Doesn't have in-suite laundry--but only 25 cents to wash and dry (according to a friend that still lives there) If I were you--I would get on to the waiting list--and check back fairly often! Thats how we got in--just kept checking back!! like a 5 min walk to Metro and close to many shops/restaurants

That actually looks great! Definitely what we're looking for. I'll have my husband put us on the waiting list as soon as we have a better idea of when I can move over for good

We've had a lot of issues with parking and dealing with rental companies in that area, so it's nice to get a first-hand review of a good experience. Thanks for the recommendation.

When I moved down, my husband flew to Detroit, rented a van at the airport, and drove to my place in Chatham. We loaded up the van (I had a lot of things so also used a moving company that came later) with my cats, my plants that I was taking (phytosanitary certificates in hand), and what I needed until the moving van arrived. We then drove down to Georgia and returned the van locally. It was extremely economical, if cost is one of your primary concerns.

Your husband could also rent the van locally, drive up, load up the van with you and your belongings and then return to Virginia. You may want to price that option. You would pay a daily rate to rent the vehicle (and you can get good deals on-line at places like Priceline.com, etc ). and your gas. It would be a long day's drive but you could do it.

I'll look into priceline.com for sure. And that's a great idea to fly/bus closer to Canada and rent there.. it'll save you a bunch of mileage/gas and the bus ticket would only cost ~$70. If we find that we definitely have to rent something, we'll see if it's possible to do it that way.

O we wouldn't mind the trip. We love road trips, especially when they lead to FINALLY being together for good

Is there someone you know in the US with a larger vehicle you could borrow? I was like you, no furniture to bring, just boxes of stuff. We borrowed my mother in laws station wagon. My (now) husband drove it up to Canada, we loaded it up with as much as we could (leaving a few boxes behind at my parents house), and drove back down to Maryland with it. We had a 12 hour drive, and also didn't want to pay to rent a uhaul.

Actually, his aunt just got a nice big car. We could ask to borrow that worst case, as long as we can make sure the interior doesn't get damaged haha.

Do you remember how much gas you used up during that trip?

[johnnyv 20]

I've been following this thread for a while but I think I'll have to do a long road trip to get it all here. No place services Cranbrook. They all want me to go to Surrey...