Preparing for the BIG move

[Isometry]

Get your spouse to check around for sales. The best time to buy a winter jacket is in the summer. I just bought one for my hubby two weeks ago for 50% off. He will probably want it as soon as he steps off the plane of Friday

Also, thrift stores are awesome for that sort of thing. All of my winter things so far were bought either at thrift stores (in nearly new condition) or on clearance.

Go through all your clothing and donate/sell anything you don't really wear, that doesn't really fit, or that you don't really like--I do this about once a year anyway, it always gets rid of more than I think it will. Once you've done that, just pack everything that's left, even if it's all summer stuff. Remember, even in the winter, you're inside sometimes!

Here's the process to go through for choosing what to take, assuming that the item doesn't have sentimental value:

Will I need it? If YES, go to next. If NO, get rid of it. (Got rid of the mattress, my husband already has one)
Is it replaceable? If NO, keep it. If YES, go to next. (My sister would not be attempting to replace her violin. My bookshelves are easy to replace though)
Will I need it immediately? If YES, keep it. If NO, go to next. For example, you'll want to keep enough toiletries and such for the first couple weeks, even if you can get the same brand in Canada, because having to get all those things right away sucks.
Is it cheaper to ship than to replace? If YES, keep it. If NO, get rid of it. Keep in mind, even if it's something you'll be bringing with you on the plane, you'll be shipping other things. An extra thing in your suitcase means that something else that was in your suitcase now needs to be mailed.


Before leaving, I terminated my lease, cancelled my phone and internet plans, and transferred all my money to the Canadian joint bank account I had with my husband, then closed my US bank accounts. My bank told me that I could only close accounts in person, so this had to be done before the move.

 

[merger]

Also, thrift stores are awesome for that sort of thing. All of my winter things so far were bought either at thrift stores (in nearly new condition) or on clearance.

Go through all your clothing and donate/sell anything you don't really wear, that doesn't really fit, or that you don't really like--I do this about once a year anyway, it always gets rid of more than I think it will. Once you've done that, just pack everything that's left, even if it's all summer stuff. Remember, even in the winter, you're inside sometimes!

Here's the process to go through for choosing what to take, assuming that the item doesn't have sentimental value:

Will I need it? If YES, go to next. If NO, get rid of it. (Got rid of the mattress, my husband already has one)
Is it replaceable? If NO, keep it. If YES, go to next. (My sister would not be attempting to replace her violin. My bookshelves are easy to replace though)
Will I need it immediately? If YES, keep it. If NO, go to next. For example, you'll want to keep enough toiletries and such for the first couple weeks, even if you can get the same brand in Canada, because having to get all those things right away sucks.
Is it cheaper to ship than to replace? If YES, keep it. If NO, get rid of it. Keep in mind, even if it's something you'll be bringing with you on the plane, you'll be shipping other things. An extra thing in your suitcase means that something else that was in your suitcase now needs to be mailed.


Before leaving, I terminated my lease, cancelled my phone and internet plans, and transferred all my money to the Canadian joint bank account I had with my husband, then closed my US bank accounts. My bank told me that I could only close accounts in person, so this had to be done before the move.

Hi isometry,

Wow, thanks for this! Very helpful thought process in deciding which ones to keep and which ones to leave..

 

[rachiy]

Before leaving, I terminated my lease, cancelled my phone and internet plans, and transferred all my money to the Canadian joint bank account I had with my husband, then closed my US bank accounts. My bank told me that I could only close accounts in person, so this had to be done before the move.

Keep in mind that you might want to keep a bank account open in your home country too. Before I left I kept a chequing and savings account, plus a VISA in my home country. I was able to get the account types switched to one where I don't pay any bank fees (or only pay when I make a transaction). I use these accounts for transferring money around from/to family for random things as well as for my Grandparents to deposit Christmas and Birthday money. I kept the VISA as it has a much higher limit than my Canadian one as I don't have a credit rating in Canada yet, and I think it is important to be able to book a flight home asap in an emergency without having to muck around with money transfers. Also, if you need to pay taxes or other expenses then it is easier to do so from a local currency account than make an international transfer.

Just my two cents.

 

[CharlieD10]

Keep in mind that you might want to keep a bank account open in your home country too.

Agreed. I left two accounts open, the one connected with my local credit card, so I can put money in there to pay it off in case I use it on trips home, and another I have joint with my mother as I can send her funds through Moneygram and it goes into that account and she won't need to muck about with lines at a money transfer place, she can use the debit card attached to that account.

 

[Isometry]

Hi isometry,

Wow, thanks for this! Very helpful thought process in deciding which ones to keep and which ones to leave..

NP! I had to explain what I was doing so many times that I have it down pat now:
But how will you get your furniture up there?
I'm not taking it
What, why not? You'll need your bookshelves!
Yes, but my $15 particleboard bookshelf won't fit in my car and would cost at least $90 to ship.

Keep in mind that you might want to keep a bank account open in your home country too. Before I left I kept a chequing and savings account, plus a VISA in my home country. I was able to get the account types switched to one where I don't pay any bank fees (or only pay when I make a transaction). I use these accounts for transferring money around from/to family for random things as well as for my Grandparents to deposit Christmas and Birthday money. I kept the VISA as it has a much higher limit than my Canadian one as I don't have a credit rating in Canada yet, and I think it is important to be able to book a flight home asap in an emergency without having to muck around with money transfers. Also, if you need to pay taxes or other expenses then it is easier to do so from a local currency account than make an international transfer.

Just my two cents.

You have some good points. In my case, I have to send/receive money from family rarely, and had a very low credit limit in the US as I'd only gotten my first credit card a few months before I got my PPR. I decided the hassle of the few times I'd need to deal with US currency without a US bank account was probably less than the hassle of keeping a US bank account open and not being able to close it. When I was closing the accounts, my bank also didn't mention any account type where I wouldn't pay fees for inactivity.

 

[Canooknic]

NP! I had to explain what I was doing so many times that I have it down pat now:
But how will you get your furniture up there?
I'm not taking it
What, why not? You'll need your bookshelves!
Yes, but my $15 particleboard bookshelf won't fit in my car and would cost at least $90 to ship.

Wonderful!! We didn't bring any furniture from England, we wanted to bring our couch because it was only 18months old and so comfortable but it was big and it would have really limited what places we could rent when we arrived. Selling everything was sad but also very therapeutic - and being able to buy everything here has been so much fun (and it all fits in our house!!)

 

[merger]

Keep in mind that you might want to keep a bank account open in your home country too. Before I left I kept a chequing and savings account, plus a VISA in my home country. I was able to get the account types switched to one where I don't pay any bank fees (or only pay when I make a transaction). I use these accounts for transferring money around from/to family for random things as well as for my Grandparents to deposit Christmas and Birthday money. I kept the VISA as it has a much higher limit than my Canadian one as I don't have a credit rating in Canada yet, and I think it is important to be able to book a flight home asap in an emergency without having to muck around with money transfers. Also, if you need to pay taxes or other expenses then it is easier to do so from a local currency account than make an international transfer.

Just my two cents.

Thanks rachiy for sharing your insight.. Makes sense too!

 

[mr70]

When bringing in personal stuff when landing like soaps,skin creams etc,how much can a person bring without having trouble with customs? How do you fill out the forms,B4/B4A? Are pictures of jewlery really required?

 

[merger]

When bringing in personal stuff when landing like soaps,skin creams etc,how much can a person bring without having trouble with customs?

Hmmm i'd like to know the answer to this question too...

 

[CharlieD10]

When bringing in personal stuff when landing like soaps,skin creams etc,how much can a person bring without having trouble with customs? How do you fill out the forms,B4/B4A? Are pictures of jewlery really required?

I had a fair number of these items and I had no issues. It's not Customs you have to worry about, it's the airline and your baggage allowance. On the B4 I filled in all the items I had with me, I listed general clothing as one item but I had some special items of clothing which I listed and valued separately. I listed each piece of electronics separately with their serial numbers on the form, toiletries was one category by itself, jewelry I listed in categories (costume, gold, silver). On the B4A (Goods to follow) I listed some additional items left behind that I intend to bring back later.

I took photos of my jewelry for my own purposes, they were not required by Customs.

 

[podkayne8]

Hello!

A bit early to ask this since I just received my PPR and submitted my passport today... But could anyone share how you are planning your move to Canada? In terms of what things to bring/pack, what to settle in your home country before leaving, any other form of preparation or planning you need to do?

I've been thinking of the ff:

1. Check which clothes I would bring.. I've read somewhere not to bring many 'summer' clothes..(Philippines is a tropical country and we don't have winter so almost all of my clothes are for warm weather) and I'm moving to Winnipeg!

2. List personal stuff to bring - health and beauty products for skin/body care regimen since some may not be readily available in Winnipeg and to avoid spending too much when I get there. Like a 6-month supply?? (

3. Organize and prepare medical records/docs - for any previous medical conditions/treatment/certificates for future reference

4. School documents like copy of diploma, transcript of records, school certification - I plan to study in the future. Are these docs needed to apply for work in Canada?

5. Computer files saved in portable hard drive? - important files and a thousand photos..

6. Update my resume/CV???

What else to pack and prepare?


Or would you know if there's a site or link that would direct me somewhere that would help me prepare? ???

Congrats! Nice to see another person going to Winnipeg!

I immigrated to Winnipeg from Texas and I must say the summers can still get pretty warm in Winnipeg. You will definitely want summer clothes for summer. More importantly you will want a good Winter coat and boots. I'd suggest just buying that when you get here. I couldn't find a 'true' winter coat in my area of Texas lol.

And CharlieD is definitely right about insurance and adjusting to the winter temperatures and getting sick easily. My very first winter here, I got what I like to refer to as the plague. LOL I was miserably sick for 2 weeks. And I wasn't a PR yet and I didn't have travel insurance yet so I had to go pay at the walk-in clinic.

I think everyone's answered your questions pretty well, but I just wanted to chime in since I saw your heading to our fabulous Winterpeg.

 

[podkayne8]

Keep in mind that you might want to keep a bank account open in your home country too. Before I left I kept a chequing and savings account, plus a VISA in my home country. I was able to get the account types switched to one where I don't pay any bank fees (or only pay when I make a transaction). I use these accounts for transferring money around from/to family for random things as well as for my Grandparents to deposit Christmas and Birthday money. I kept the VISA as it has a much higher limit than my Canadian one as I don't have a credit rating in Canada yet, and I think it is important to be able to book a flight home asap in an emergency without having to muck around with money transfers. Also, if you need to pay taxes or other expenses then it is easier to do so from a local currency account than make an international transfer.

Just my two cents.

Sorry to hijack the thread but if I may ask, what US bank are you using? Do they let you easily transfer money back and forth between your US bank & Canadian bank? I've had a hard time with that. I still have my US account but the only way my Canadian bank (TD) can deposit money to it is a wire transfer...but that gets costly. I end up just having them cut me a US money draft and then depositing that to my US account as it is cheaper.

 

[rachiy]

Sorry to hijack the thread but if I may ask, what US bank are you using? Do they let you easily transfer money back and forth between your US bank & Canadian bank? I've had a hard time with that. I still have my US account but the only way my Canadian bank (TD) can deposit money to it is a wire transfer...but that gets costly. I end up just having them cut me a US money draft and then depositing that to my US account as it is cheaper.

I am actually from New Zealand, so can't really help you there. I have no idea about banks in the US. I have never had to transfer money between countries as I kept the balance in NZ and am earning CAD here.

I am sure others from the US will be able to help you out, and I know there are a few threads regarding transferring money somewhere in this forum.