Hi
Also with Sky you need to give 28 days notice but can call about a week before the 28 days and give advance notice.
Get transcript of driving record from DVLA (we did not do but is recommended)
Get no claims letter from insurer (they will usually only do this on cancellation of insurance)
Buy travel adaptors (laptop and mobile chargers are 220/110 so you only need an adaptor but the phone charges very slowly)
Doctors records take a few days so don't leave for last minute
Type up template letters for utility companies with blank spots for meter readings, get envelopes stamped so you can take meter readings and post on way to airport
Get school records from kids school
If you have a baby stock up on scented nappy sacks as the only place we have found that sells them is Walmart
Get dvd player unlocked if you are taking it (people sell discs/remotes on eBay)
Get mobiles unblocked (I have a Nokia 6680 and the market guys couldn't do it so Vodaphone got me the code for 20 pounds but ask early as it takes up to 28 days and they ended up having to email it to me)

If I think of more I will add to this


Susan

To those who have provided information here .......

If the items you have mentioned in this thread are not in the BE Wiki article, there would be merit in adding them to that list.

If you mention them here, they soon will sink out of sight, but if you add them to the Wiki they'll be available in the longer term.

What do you need to get 'Doctors records' for? Are these essential if you are fit and healthy?

To give your new doctor an idea of your past medical treatment, results of lab tests, etc.

No.

They are useful especially when it comes to keeping track of children's immunisations.

My doctors surgery printed off a sheet for each of us listing immunisations, and any medical procedures carried out at the hospital since childhood.

Can I add that women should take a copy of the results of your latest smear test. I was for my medical a couple of days ago and would have had to undergo another one but for the fact that I had brought proof of a 'normal' result from June 06.

Thanks Judy, didnt occur to me to add to someone elses work in the Wiki!

Make a spreadsheet of all correspondence. O2 decided that we hadn't cancelled our UK mobiles so baliffs etc were called in for 48 GBP. As soon as letter was sent listing dates of all correspondence then they backed down.

English tea bags and Cadburys chocolate are a must. We make all our visitors from the UK bring LOTS of suppiles!

Apparently you can transfer over your UK non-claims discount for car insurance, but best to find out exactly what the Canadian Insurer wants to know / included in the letter from UK insurer.

Thanks for the tip about the smear test results for medicals.

Def good idea to work backwards on dates to do things and write on calender on fridge. Also keep notebook next to bed so when you wake up in the middle of the night worrying about something, you can write it down!

Also work out what you'll need in hand luggage over hold luggage and make a list. Such as proof of finances t oshow immigration officer at boarder.

I also did birthday cards for everyone for the year, and left them with my dear dad to post at the appropriate time. I wrote the date to be posted where the stamp would go! Saved international postage and risk I would forget or they wouldn't get there in time.

On that note, Mother's Day is later in Canada than it is in UK so impossible to get cards in March to send home. This year I just used blank ones with flowers on the front, but we bought Mother's Day cards when it was here and are saving them for next March!

FINALLY MAKE A LIST OF ALL YOUR LISTS!

Go see castles etc
Watch Shakesphere in Stratford
Shop in Oxford St
Lunch in Oxford
Drive a GTsomething-or-other fast, doing lots of overtaking..dropping down a gear.
Visit your Great Aunt and stay for a cup of tea
Look and really see all the beauty that surrounds you..Hedges that are older than most of the Provinces, Trees that are older than Canada, brooks and streams that will still be babbling long after all around you, have forgotten you.
Lay in a meadow and listen to the English birds singing and watch the puffy English clouds flouting across the English Summer sky.
But above all remember to pack..Your Great Adventure begins
I hear another 'Growers' beckoning me..

This thread is making me feel quite homesick and I haven't even left yet

Lisa

Hi,

From the opposite angle, all the info i've collated over the months/years about ANYTHING to do with the Province/area we're going to live, be it recreation, government info, taxes, forms to fill in etc etc i have a big pink notebook and i have listed contact details, web addresses etc. so once landed i have everything in one big book and hopefully will feel a little bit more in control once there??!!

Tina

I went experienced that too but it's easier for me here in the UK as I can buy the card for my Canadian mum in March (at the same time as OH mums card) and post it off in May (I think its May?) in time for Canadian Mother's Day. Plan on doing the same thing once we arrive in Canada next spring (buy a Mother's Day card in May and save it to post the following March UK Mothers day) so long as it doesnt get lost in the paperwork *lol*

Just make sure you don't lose your pink notebook

That would be a disaster