hi, me again. Sorry another question for you: as we've got to sell everything electrical we own, would it also be better to sell bulky furniture? i.s. leather suite? How expensive is they to buy in Calgary? Also has anyone got any links that would be useful for this please.

Thanks

Michelle

Hi Michelle

I feel unless you have some furniture that is very special to you shipping cost will be more then replacing what you need, here is some links that may be helpful, www.thebrick.com, and if you don't mine used try http://www.buysell.com/index.asp?r=26&ud=false, you will be able to find almost anything in the "bargain finder"

happy shopping

Brian

If your stuff has European styling - keep it and ship it. Having done the yo-yo thing once or twice to North America, in places other than large metropolitan centres with the ability to import, you will not be able to find equivalent replacements. I don't like the 1980's look of most stuff her, but it's down to personal taste. It's a myth that it costs more to ship than replace. It doesn't.

Michelle, I got rid of everything but then it was very old stuff that I had inherited from my Mum in the eighties! (it was also a very liberating process too ) Personally if I had a leather sofa and it was really comfortably I would ship it. Although they're not as expensive here as in the Uk it will be another one of those things that you just dont have to replace (and therefore make a decision on when there are sooo many other things that will need your attention ). Also depends if you want new pristine leather or the old comfey look too.

Have a look at the brick but bear in mind that all the prices you see are ex GST and they're not the cheapest place to shop. Definately wait for a sale!

We sent our belongings over in a 20ft container, which held just over 1,000 cubic feet of stuff. We shipped from Grantham UK to London Ontario. It cost just over three and a half thousand pounds, which included the packing, which took 2 days, and the unloading at the destination. I am so glad that we brought so much furniture with us. It meant that we could almost furnish our home, needing only to buy the appliances and other electrical goods. I have found it impossible to replace our old stereo that had a turntable, so all the boxes of vinyl that we brought with us might have been a waste of time! We have just moved into our house and it is so good to have some familiar things around us again. I didn't actually want to bring our three piece suite, but it has had a new lease of life and looks much better in our Canadian home. Also, if our experience is anything to go by, you will probably end up with a larger home here than in UK, so even though we had furniture for a regular three-bedroomed home, we now have extra rooms to furnish. I am glad that I haven't got to buy 2 suites; finding one that I like is hard enough.

I am sure that the goods we shipped could never have been replaced for the cost of the shipping and as I said before, it is good to have some familiar things around you. I can heartily recommend our removal company - Overs of Camberley. They were the best quote we had; we had 7 different companies come to visit us. We first met Over's at 'Emigrate' and they were the only company to set us up with an appointment on the day. We dealt with Gary Fenwick, who was excellent. He drove 3 hours up the A1 to visit us and his estimate was spot on when it finally came to load it all into the container. Another firm told us we needed a 40ft container!
Good luck with your move. Believe me, this emigration lark is an expensive business, so save money wherever you can.

All the best, Zeppelin4 (writing from the comfort of her old, familiar MFI armchair!!!)

I used to work for an international relocations firm, and my uncle still does - he`s just returned to the UK after 3 Years in New Jersey, so has had stuff back and forth a couple of times. I know it cost my aunt/uncle a lot to furnish their apartment (they didn`t pay for removal as company relocation so had to wait a few weeks). In that event, they ran out to buy futon, ikea bits and bobs, new dining table and all the small items that you don`t realise you need. It cost them quite a bit to do so. Also, if you consider the cost of replacing all of your electrical items, it doesn`t seem like such a lot to pay. As the last post says, familiarity means a lot. My aunt was so, so, homesick at first, and I think when she got her own furniture in it finally felt like `home` instead of an apartment.

PS, did you know that you can usually get a better rate on a `groupage` container shipment - perhaps just taking several large items and sharing the container with another of their clients. Lets face it, you could always ship just furniture and get pots/pans egtc when you arrive. (Shopping always cheers me up!)

Hope this helps.

Lisa

Hi again,
here is a link we have been using to judge prices:
http://www.buyitcanada.com/Calgary/Furniture
Hope it helps. There are quite a few gimicks to get people to buy - no interest and no payment for a year, no payments for 6 months etc.
The companies listed on the website have varying degrees of quality. The Brick is not the same as McAurthur for example.
Grace

Hi Michelle

We aren't taking any of our furniture with us as we havent got anything sentimental.
I have enclosed a link which has alot of stores on for furniture in Calgary from The Brick to Ikea to any of the smaller ones.


http://www.buyitcanada.com/Calgary/Furniture/

Hope you find this useful.

Julie

One thing to consider when you buy new furniture here is the cost of delivery if you buy items piecemeal - it really adds up. Of course, if you get a pickup truck and live the N American dream - you can get alot of gear yourself. Otherwise, you could do what we did and buy some stuff from Ikea, renting one of their vans to cart the gear. We coordinated this trip with picking up furniture at several other stores, thus avoiding alot of delivery costs!

Cheers

Simon

When we bought stuff the delivery was always included. If you deal right you can also get the GST thrown in as well. With furniture there is two types; (1) something for everyday (2) proper furniture. The former is cheaper than the latter!! Ikea is good but you need to like their stuff. Some of it good, most of it the former. Certainly in Calgary there are a number of speciallist furniture stores where you can get furniture made. This is what we have done although it is not cheap. However, you have to be careful with this climate else wood furniture will weather badly. (I almost sound like I know what I am talking about - I guess that comes from visiting so many different furniture stores. I think I have done them all in the Calgary area).

Just to finish on we did ship our leather sofas - not old and it would have cost more to replace than to ship! All of our wood furiture we sold as this was all pine and that would not have done good here. I hope that this helps.

Phil