....
was wondering how people have gone about doing this?
We've not got a date yet, but seems likely we're gonna be in Canada for 8/10 weeks at least before our goods arrive.

Or am I missing something??

Hi,

I think one way or another you have to be without your things for a while. We leave for Calgary on 27th June, our goods leave on 3rd June, the theory being that they will arrive just after us. It means we will have the last few weeks this end without most of our things but we're keeping a couple of beds that aren't worth sending, most electrical goods aren't going and I can borrow a few things from family this end.

I guess a lot of people go into short term furnished rentals when they arrive a while before their things - my husband's already there and we have a longer term unfurnished rental sorted so it made sense for us to get things there quickly. You just have to do whatever suits your circumstances best. For us that means the kids and I 'camping' indoors for a few weeks - they'll love it!

Good luck.

MrsDV

We arrived with 5 bulging suitcases and lived out of those in a furnished rental for 3 months till our house purchase completed and our container arrived the day after we got possession.

I think it makes up a part of the big adventure and you'll be surprised at how well you cope.

We have two little girls and I thought it would be a struggle but they loved it. We have a really nice home but they keep asking to go back to the rental because it was different and we made it happy instead of stressing.

You'll be fine. It also makes unwrapping all your possessions like Christmas Day after being without them for a while.

Good luck.

When we moved to Texas we camped in our rental house on air beds and bean bags for about six weeks When we moved from Texas to here we only had to do a few days on the air beds at this end, and a week or so on the air beds in Texas, so our stuff arrived just after we did.

It's an adventure, and our kids loved it! You'll cope!

Hi, when we arrive (exactly one year ago today!) we stayed in a hotel suite while we bought a car and looked at houses. As luck would have it, we found and bought our house in the first week. Then we stayed in a rented basement suite for 8 weeks until our date of entry / possession for the new house. In early July when we were given our dates, we contacted WHITES (whom we would highly rate) and told them to ship our belongings immediately.

We took possession of our house on the Tuesday and our goods arrived on the Thursday - so we only had two nights of sleeping on airbeds!!

Hope this helps, L

I would say that it is better to leave behind anything that is not of sentimental value, especially the big furniture stuff - its generally cheaper to replace when you get there.

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Happy Canniversary!
x

Thanks Judy - can't believe it's been a year (and what a year!)

L

It depends on the quality of the furniture. Good quality furniture in Canada is expensive.
x

Got to agree with judy on this one, we are bringing a 20ft container as we have built up some good furniture and do not want to leave it behind, plus when you have kids i think there stuff around them will make them settle better, plus im not dragging three kids around looking for stuff

Make a list of what you have, we did say wed sell it all, but then got a good quote and now im making sure this container is full

And I have to agree with you.

Having familiar belongings / furniture helped our kids settle much quicker and made the transition a little easier for them. Can't put a price on that!

[QUOTE=Inzone;6419478]I would say that it is better to leave behind anything that is not of sentimental value, especially the big furniture stuff - its generally cheaper to replace when you get there.

Would have to disagree. It's costing us under £3.5k for a 20 ft container, far less than the value of our furniture alone. I don't think £3.5k would go too far in furnishing a 4 bedroom house. Also, once you know you have a container you don't have to make any difficult decisions about what to take and what to leave behind - we will be shipping an awful lot of cuddly toys and books - pretty much everything will be going in there. The good thing is, I know I won't be trawling the streets of Calgary this time next month looking for kitchen utensils and cushions! (well, unless the container goes overboard )

[QUOTE=MrsDV;6422786] I agree. Most people who ship a 20ft container of 'stuff' over seem to pay between £3500 and £4500 to get it to Canada. We filled ours to the brim. Thank God! There is NO WAY you could furnish your average family home for about $8000.

We still spent thousands on just the boring stuff like TV's, washer and dryer, general kitchen appliances, a few lamps and rugs, and another suite of furniture. That pot of money empties quicker than you would ever have imagined

Now, having said all that, if you are solo, or a couple with a lesser amount of clobber anyway, then yes, I'd say reconsider. But for your average family with two point four kids and golden retriever - bring the lot

[QUOTE=MrsDV;6422786]
sorry to wade in......but this has thrown up a few questions for me.... I had Doree Bonner over to quote us for shipping. I didn't think we had that much but the estimator said it would come to about 716 Cu F and that we needed a 20ft container. he said we'd have sole use of it, which I thought meant that we had a bit more space to fill it....however, when the quote came through, it said, sole use of a container but items should not exceed the volume of 716 Cu ft...... so...I'm getting sole use of a container, but can only fill it up to that volume ....amd I being cynical or is that just weird? Doesn't this mean they can fill the rest of my container with somebody else's boxes and get paid twice?

I also have a problem with the fact that they will charge me extra when I go over the 716 ft limit....especially considering that the estimator seems to have left out quite a few things! How does this normally work?
Mrs B

Contact them and advise that they left a few things off and see what they say??

We advised gb liners that they had missed off something and could we add something and wasnt charged for it, if you are not happy look at others to quote

We accepted our quote for gb liners and they have been fab, came recommended to us and they have lived up to there promise so far

gill