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[new_to_forum]

I received an offer from a Canadian university a couple days ago. The spring semester in my new university will start in early January, which means I have only a few weeks to wrap up things at my current school (grading, packing, farewell parties, etc), find an apartment in Canada, attend my brother's wedding, pack all my belongings, and then take a 25 hour road trip to Canada. I am very excited about my new job, but I am going crazy right now; I don't know where to start. Everybody keeps telling me that these are "good worries," yeah right, but...

My new university is providing me with almost $7000 travel allowance (I am moving to Canada from the US). My main questions are: what should I expect while crossing the border? what truck rental company should I use? is it worth taking my second-hand furniture all the way to Canada?

I'd really appreciate any suggestions vis-a-vis moving to Canada and settling down up there. Thanks a lot.

[helpinterview]

Depending on how much stuff you have I recommend putting a trailer hitch on your car at uhaul or something for about 165 and then renting a trailer.  It is much cheaper and then everything that doesn't fit is not necessary in your life.  You cn then always rent a trailer when necessary since you will have the hitch.

Sounds like a great time to evaluate the material things that you have.  Things that you haven't used in a while put on craig's list and have less stuff to take.  Way to go on getting the job though. 

[cardamom]

In terms of moving logistics, movingscam.com is your friend. No, I'm not affiliated in any way, but it saved my sanity when I did a cross-country move a few years ago. You can find oodles of good advice there and their forum has several relatively recent threads about US/Canada moves. Good luck.

[womanofproperty]

Congratulations!

I second the recommendation for movingscam.com - I found it very helpful.

Sounds like a great time to evaluate the material things that you have.  Things that you haven't used in a while put on craig's list and have less stuff to take.

I agree with the above as well.  Take with you what you absolutely love or need, and then sell/donate what's useable, toss the trash. You can buy new stuff at your new place.

If you don't have the time to go through your things to decide what to keep and what to sell or give away, then another alternative is to use ministorage or some such for nonessentials until the summer, or whenever you will have time to go through things.  I did this.  The cost was not that bad, and was well worth it in terms of the time saved.

[wannabeaphd]

Actually, I recently completed a move from SoCal to the Boston area. I think it's similar... we opted to give everything away (most of it had been purchased cheaply while still in undergrad) and pack up all of our possessions for the long drive. We did end up shipping some books because media mail isn't terrible and we had a very limited amount of space. However, one caution about media mail: do not back books in anything larger than a 12x12x12 box or the box may break open and you may never see your books again, also use packing tape like it's going out of style on those boxes and everything will get to you fine... The biggest expense was a new bed, but we did huge amounts of research and found a fantastic bed for an excellent price. Everything else, straight from Ikea and CL.

Additionally, we did a Canada trip last summer (we were summering in Portland, OR) and were pleasantly surprised at the border. Getting into Canada, even it many boxes in our back seat and trunk, took all of 15 minutes. They asked if we had any firearms and we were good to go. However, coming back into the US took us over an hour. We contemplated driving to the NE via Canada but decided against it in the end.

Good luck!

[grasshopper]

is it worth taking my second-hand furniture all the way to Canada?

The uni will pay to move your furniture; they won't pay for you to buy new stuff. I'd move whatever I didn't absolutely hate. You can ditch the old as you gradually buy new. If you're moving between terms, and only have a few weeks to pack up, find a new place, move, prep, and get settled, you probably won't have a lot of time to go furniture shopping right off the bat.


Also, remember that no matter what happens, you will be moved by X date. If everything doesn't get done by then, then so be it: it doesn't get done. I made a quickie move this fall, and that was the one thought that saved my sanity. I would do what I could, and what I couldn't... well, it would be in the past as soon as I left.

[sugaree]

Congratulations on your new job!

When I moved to Canada from the US several years ago, I contracted with a moving company that "specialized" in cross-border relocations. I suggest you do the same, especially since the University is paying your moving expenses. This way, if there are any border "issues" (and usually there aren't, but don't count at that - every border crossing has the potential to become an issue, though I've been lucky over the years that it has never been that big of a deal), the moving company has experience in dealing with it. The company I used sub-contracted with an independent mover and the independent mover was GREAT! The internet company was evil (and I don't recall their name anyway), but the independent sub-contractor was called Two Amigos.

Cost of living is quite a bit more than what you are probably used to, even if you live in a fairly expensive US city, so I would take my furniture rather than try to find stuff up here, used or otherwise (again, esp. since you have a moving allowance). If you have a car you also need to arrange for documentation that it is your vehicle and therefore are "allowed" to bring it into Canada permanently. If you don't have the title (still paying on a car loan, as I was), the loaning institution can write you a letter indicating that you are making regular payments. Once in Canada, you'll have to get a vehicle inspection (unless this is province specific? I think it is a nationwide mandate?).

If you are a US and not a Canadian citizen, you will need to get your work permit at the border. Depending upon where you cross, the border guards may or may not be accustomed to this and there might be some confusion. But if you have the official letter of employment from your institution and the permit fee (it was $200 Canadian when I got mine, but it might be more now), it will work out. The guards will claim they can't take a money order, but they can. (they don't accept credit cards or personal checks, not that you likely have a Canadian checking account yet). It's even better if you can be prepared with some cash.

There are lots of details that I am sure you are on top of - PM me if you want to talk more about my experiences. Good luck with everything. Take it one step at a time and it will all work out. And again, congratulations!

[new_to_forum]

Thank you everyone for your suggestions.

Sugaree, thank you for sharing your experience. I really appreciate it. I googled Two Amigos and was very happy to know that they can move me from my current American town to my new Canadian city. I'll contact them first thing tomorrow morning.

What I am thinking to do is to give away all my second-hand furniture and get a new bedroom set, dining table, couch, and coffee table to take to Canada. I live in a relatively inexpensive American town and I am sure I'll be able to find good deals on furniture right now. This way, I don't have to wonder around to look for furniture and other stuff upon my arrival in Canada.

 

[janedoh]

When I moved to Canada (paid for by my University) I used Meldrum, and was very happy with the results. No issues with the border, but remember to make a detailed list of everything you are moving. When you get your work permit at the border (I did mine at the airport), the agents can technically ask you for a list of everything that will follow you in to Canada, since you can bring it all in duty-free. Ours didn't.

Ditto on what sugaree said about costs. We find our costs are lower than in our previous major US metro area for day to day stuff, but electronics, books, furniture, and appliances are way more than in the US. We really miss amazon.com, since the online shopping scene is way less developed in Canada, so get what you think you will need right away before you move. We often make clothing and electronics purchases that we pick up when we visit the US.

The immigration stuff is pretty annoying (like for any country), but it is really easy for Americans or Mexicans to get work permits due to NAFTA. Feel free to PM me with any specific questions as well, and congrats on your new job.

[history_grrrl]

First of all, congratulations on the job offer!

I want to echo Sugaree's advice about getting a moving company that specializes in cross-border moves. Your university probably works with a local company that is affiliated with one of these outfits; in my case, I think it was with Mayflower. So their company told me which Mayflower company to use in my U.S. city. If you have them take care of it, they will deal with all of the list-making and paperwork that are needed at the border and you won't have to deal with any of that. So I would definitely not recommend a do-it-yourself move; it's too time-consuming and fraught with potential problems. Also, if the travel budget will cover it, have the movers do as much packing as possible. I didn't have as much money as you're getting, so I had them pack everything but my books and files, which I wanted to do myself anyway. It was a joy not to do the rest, and they were super-efficient. I flew out the morning after my stuff left, so I went through customs at the airport with paperwork given to me by the moving company (they'll make a note "goods to follow" in your passport). My stuff arrived a couple of days after I did, and I got a call to go to a customs clearinghouse to sign it in. Then the movers took everything to my house. Every item was tagged with a number that corresponded to the list they kept. I'm still finding those numbers stuck on pieces of furniture, years later!

I got my work permit at the border when I crossed over to look for a place to live. If your situation is like mine, it was for three years, reflecting that my letter of offer covered three years (then when I got reappointed I got an extension on my work permit, but I obtained permanent residence shortly after that so the work permit was no longer an issue). You'll need to have various pieces of paper with you to get the work permit, such as your birth certificate (so order that now if you don't have one), photo ID, letter of offer, Labor Market Opinion from whatever that office is called (this will probably take a few weeks to get, since you just got the offer), etc. They want the birth certificate to verify citizenship, and the photo ID to verify that you are who you say you are. (Possibly this is more complicated with the new passport requirement, but check with the person in HR at your university who deals with international faculty.)

Personally I would wait on buying furniture since you don't know what kind of place you'll end up getting, but you may have a different idea. As for housing, our faculty union has some listings on its website, but I mostly checked the online version of the local newspaper and then took a weekend to go up and look around (stupidly, I didn't know it was Canada Day weekend!). I got my work permit on that trip, about a month and a half before I moved.

Also feel free to PM me for more info. And welcome!

[atalanta]

Congratulations!

I would not buy furniture before moving. I suggest waiting until you have your living situation settled. (I would even consider buying more used stuff when you reach your destination, but then, I'm cheap. And YMMV, as they say.)

The only advice I have to offer is to number your boxes and keep a good inventory of the contents of each box. The only trouble I had at the border was that the number of boxes did not exactly match the number of items on my list. That caused some frustration and scowling among the immigration folks, because they were afraid they would have to start opening boxes. In the end they just let me in, but they weren't happy about it.

If you are importing your vehicle, you will also have to fill out a form and pay a fee, and then someone will "inspect" the car (i.e. make sure the VIN matches your documents) at the border. You will then have to arrange for a more thorough vehicle inspection within the first couple of months of arrival.  I don't remember the details, but I'm sure you can find out about it online.

[goldfinch]

That's great news! 

My one addition is to make sure you get binding estimates.  If you have used movers before you may know this.  If you are like many academics you may have lots of books and files, and in my moves the estimators underestimated my stuff by hundreds, maybe thousands of pounds since I had little furniture.  If you have more paperwork than furniture, they may be way off, and if you have a binding estimate, that's all you will have to pay.  Otherwise this could double your costs.  This is most likely to happen [hint hint] if your papers and books are still shelved/filed when they come over. 

This glossary is helpful: http://www.protectyourmove.gov/consumer/awareness/glossary/glossary.htm#binding

good luck! 

[new_to_forum]

Dear all,

Thanks again for your suggestions.

I decided on the following:
1. I am not taking any furniture with me
2. my husband convinced me to fly instead of driving for 25 hours. He'll come with me and help me settle down and look for furniture. I'll check in as many bags as the airlines allow me and mail the rest to myself. I don't have too much stuff anyway: books and clothing mostly.
3. I'll have my car shipped to Canada; somebody told me Canada Driveaway is the best car shipping company. anybody has used their services? I imported my car to Canada last year. It was registered in Ontario, but i am moving to Saskatchewan. Hopefully, there won't be any problems at the border.
4. I am a Canadian permanent resident, so I guess I don't have to worry about any paperwork while going through the immigration at the airport.
7. the contact person I talked to at my Canadian university told me that my travel allowance was a taxable benefit. She told me I don't have to submit any receipts to the HR department, but should keep the receipts for filing my taxes. Unfortunately, I won't receive the allowance in advance, so I have to rely on my American credit cards to cover my expenses.
8. I guess we have to stay at the hotel for at least a couple days before I can actually move into my new apartment. I'll rent an unfurnished apartment online.
9. What else?? can't think of anything else right now..

[spectacle]

I didn't do an international move, but we did get rid of a lot of our furniture (we moved into a much smaller apartment) and I have to say that I was SHOCKED at how much of our stuff we were able to unload on craigslist.

Before you give stuff away, post it just once or twice and see if you can sell it.  Even the small amounts add up and in this economy people are crazy for used furniture.

[llanfair]

Nothing to add in terms of advice for your move, but welcome to Canada! And you'll find that the only Canadians more friendly and helpful than Saskatchewanians are Maritimers.  (No, I am not biased.)

Keep us posted on your settling-in, and all my best wishes for the new job.  You'll love it here.