Siouxie

Ouch! Weren't the white goods included in your purchase/rental? They normally are! Fridge/freezer, washer/dryer and dishwasher would be a major expense.

I went to Canadian Tire / Walmart for coffee maker, toaster, kettle, cutlery, crockery, glasswear, pots/pans, bedding, towels, duvets etc., the $ stores for kitchen stuff and odds n sods; my TV came from Walmart as well.. though my son splashed out on one from Sears.

I bought most of my furniture and necessities 2nd hand (apart from new mattresses, again, Walmart) from kijiji or charity shops

My total spend was a little over $1300 - though I did get some bargains!

I'm not suggesting that the items were of the best quality (though some of the 2nd hand stuff is still in use), but as a start-out, it was absolutely fine.

scilly

I would say do NOT bring these electrical items ............. voltage here is 110v vs 220-240v in the UK, so you have to buy adaptors, and the things work more slowly.

You can often buy second hand ones from Craigs List or similar, and then get better when you can afford it.

I wouldn't even bother with the TV, CD player etc etc, although I know many people on here have done that.

Be aware that Canadian rooms are often larger than UK houses, and your furniture may look out of place .... and you'll find yourself wanting to make a change.

Howefamily

They were old and gross so we knocked the house price down $10k and bought new ones.

Which is why we bought them in Canada and they were in dollars
Second hand is often expensive. My friend sold her 6 year old dryer for $350. I was shocked but that seems to be normal.

scilly

Was it a very good make, or in exceptional condition?

Many people here just put an appliance (or furniture) that they are replacing out on the boulevard where it can be picked up for free, or advertise it as free on Craig's list.


We had to buy new appliances when we bought this house (way way back!!) ....... the sellers wanted to take them. We had so little money left after buying that we could only afford one item ..... we decided that friends were moving us, and they would like a cool beer or two, so we bought a fridge.

I then cooked on a 2 burner camp stove on a board placed across the kitchen sink with the window wide open for a month, when we could pull together enough money to buy a range.

We used a laundromat for a couple of year before before buying a washer, never have bought a dryer.

Those 3 appliances all came from Sears ........ strange to think they were the best place to buy appliances back then!

A portable dishwasher followed about 12 years later after I closed down a bank account that I'd left in England.


The first fridge and range both lasted over 30 years before having to replace them. The washer didn't last as long.

Siouxie

That's more than I paid for mine new! It's gone up a little since I purchased mine 6 years ago.. it's very reliable and I recommend it (and the washer).

Dryers | The Brick

BristolUK

Says $389 as my local price with an associated washer for $449. The sizes mean nothing to me so a 'pair' price of $838 might not be big enough for a family of four.

But the pair we bought at Leons (everything there was about the same as the Brick was back then) in 2005 was big enough for $595 or $695, can't recall which now.

For my duplex I bought one of each, used, from a store selling new and reconditioned, with warranty, for $200/$300. They were both like new.

If money was still tight I'd have no hesitation doing that again. After all, what you bring with you is used

Howefamily

Her dryer originally cost around $1000 though.....

BristolUK

Did it iron as well?

pquick

Hi....we moved here 8 years ago.
I left most of my kitchen bowls, utensils, pans collanders etc thinking they would be easy to replace!!...worst thing I did!!!.
If you are paying for furniture to be brought over, pay a little extra for a box of your small things....it is amazing how the price adds up, and often you cant get exactly what you wanted

DeeMB

We came to Canada in 2015 and only brought luggage, although we did have 11 pieces! We thought about bringing furniture and the like for a good few months but decided against it. We wanted a totally fresh start. We have been collecting things as we go and didn't regret our decision.

It's so exciting to be moving to Canada. I love it and we both have decent jobs which helps.

rivingtonpike

For those who have been on this site for a few years you'll know my opinion on this subject. But as far as I'm concerned, once you've made the decision to bring more than a few suitcases, and you've decided on some sort of container, I would advocate bringing everything but the kitchen sink (with the exception of BIG white goods). Power tools will work (ish). But you may well find you have 220/240v power sources in your house or garage (I did), so while perhaps not perfect, they'll work well enough to see you over the initial settling in period at the very least. Now, some years later. I think we're down to a bread maker and a big B&D Drill that are from the UK era. But for the first few years we saved a FORTUNE by bringing stuff with us. The same is true with furniture and pictures, although admittedly we had some nice antiques etc....