qman8166

Hey Guys,

so a quick update on our situation, and the need for some advice,

We have accepted a position in either Calgary or Edmonton, with the likelihood of me moving out unaccompanied end of October to start on 1st Nov.
We think the family will probably move early 2011, but this is where the advice kicks in.

If we pack our worldly goods up in Jan and it takes 6 weeks for the stuff to arrive, how do we manage in our new place without any of our stuff? Im sure you all understand what I mean.

Alternatively, we pack up our gear early Nov, and it arrives right on cue when we land in our new country, but, what do we manage with in UK?

We need ideas people............ how did u guys who have landed and settled manage it, ( we are coming from UK)

Thanks.....

M and W

Alan2005

You buy cheap stuff from places like the loonie toonie shop and camp out until your own things arrive.

Cedricj

Also there must be lost of stuff you're not taking so send the things over that you know you want to keep, "survive" with what's left and then get rid of what you're leaving behind just before you go.
That's what we have planned and it's quite amazing to realise how much we've accumulated which will allow us to do that.
It'll be a little bit like camping

TheThornes

If you send your stuff early, apart from using the stuff that you are not intending to bring over, would friends and family be able to help out with things that you could borrow? As it will be winter time, you could perhaps even borrow garden patio furniture that you could use indoors so you've at least something to sit on etc.

Do you have accommodation sorted for when you first get here? If not, you could perhaps arrange for temporary furnished accommodation until your stuff arrives and you are ready to go into a long term unfurnished rental or buy a place. That's what we did. We were in furnished short-term accommodation for 6 weeks until we found and bought a house.

All our belongings left the UK and arrived in Calgary 11 days later. We then just had to go and sign the appropriate papers etc and arrange for it all to be delivered to the house. We could have had it delivered within days but we had to wait until we took possession of the house.

snoopster

We bought a house and moved in here 3 weeks before our container arrived from the UK. We bought cheap blow up mattresses from Canadian Tire, a couple of cheap easy chairs from IKEA and some bar stools to sit up to the counter for meals. We bought a set of cheap cutlery and plates from Walmart and just made do. It was all fine and didn't cost the earth. Things like TV, Fridge, Cooker etc you'll have to get over here anyways so that wasn't too hard to sort.

Joe_Sleepy

We did almost exactly the same except we bought patio furniture & beanbags to sit on..

Aviator

I stayed in a hotel.

KenD

We ran out and bought a bunch of stuff from Sears, and still to this day look back and say "what were we thinking!".

If I were in your position, i'd hawk craigslist to see what people were selling second hand. You'll find quite the array of home furnishings/utilities for very, very, good prices.

qman8166

can you tell us who you used to move your stuff over.
thank you

qman8166

my husband things its ok to take our tv over and get adapters is that right

TheThornes

Yes - we used White & Co who are based down in Bournemouth, Dorset, although we were moving from Surrey. Couldn't fault them - very efficient and, at the time, they were the cheapest quote we got too.

TheThornes

Another good place for second hand stuff is Kijiji - www.kijiji.ca

ANDREA T

I remember those feelings, Ugh.

We have been here for 15 months and our UK possessions are still in storage in the UK!! only possibly because it costs us nothing for storage as it is in my brother factory. Our possessions became less and less important to us as we struggled with the difficulty of finding work etc.

Suppose my point is....honestly it will all work out.

We realised early on that we had to be really flexible in order to get the right employment and carting around the contents of a 3 bed house would have been a nightmare.....a bigger nightmare than the thought of sleeping on an airbed from Canadian Tire. Also we found that work colleagues we generous beyond belief, we had a couch donated, pots n pans etc and we just made do. Yes! we lived without a TV for a while ...... although we have succumbed to full satellite with Setanta again

I feel our journey so far has made me put things into perspective. The most important aspect of our immigration being a success is employment. If you have a job then the rest can be worked on.

I cannot remember how many sleepless nights I have had worrying about the finer details, but now I just know that we can survive with 3 plates, 3 forks and an airbed to our name. Oh and it is so easy to clean a house with that cool minimalist look he he

Just about to embark on another move, to Victoria (for good I hope). This will be our 3rd Prov/Terr in Canada that we have lived in since leaving UK 15 months ago. I wish I knew 15 months ago what I know now......it all works out in the end.