Revin Kevin

Trying to decide how much household stuff we should leave behind and how much we should take when we move to Canada. Should we take the whole lot in a couple of containers (we have a lot) or condense it down to some suitcases and buy locally? It will probably something in between but what do you wish you had brought that you didn't and what do you wish you had left behind that you did bring over?

dbd33

Take everything.

Siouxie

Bring those things that are irreplaceable, that have memories, that have sentimental value or are antiques/ of value to you/your family... / of exceptional quality - and things you love..
The rest leave behind - it will cost more to ship them than replace them!

https://britishexpats.com/wiki/Compa...f_Goods-Canada
https://britishexpats.com/wiki/Shipping-Canada

In addition to general 'stuff' and antiques / photos and memorabilia I brought more than 1,000 books - 18 years ago - they are still in boxes..

Danny B

Pretty much everything that wasn't powered by electricity I brought over.

Lawn mower, garden tools, bikes, beds, settee, pillows, duvets, plates, cutlery it was all put in the shipping container.

We used much of it for years and then sold it off at a garage sale. The bloke who bought my old mountain bike almost went arse over tit as UK brake levers are on the opposite side in Canada

bats

Bring everything, you'll soon get fed up with shopping.
I've no idea what shipping costs are now but you can easily do a comparison of costs to replace items. $4000 for a couch and chair, $1500 for a dining set, then there's a sideboard, coffee tables, beds, mattresses, ($1000 for a Douglas online), bedside tables, etc etc. Pots, pans, if you have Le Creuset bring it else you'll be paying around $500 here.

CanadaJimmy

Yep I packed very light when I came to Canada and was so glad when my family shipped me around 7 boxes of my old things, it really helps to stay connected to your past to keep as many things as you can.

scilly

Remember that rooms in Canadian houses are usually larger than in the UK ................. a piece of furniture that looked great in a small room, will look horrible in a much larger room. That applies especially to sofas.

Go online to see what it would cost to replace items such as sofas, beds, etc.

dbd33

This is the crux of it. You've just arrived. You immediately need something to put your dinner on and something to cook it in. You need something to dry the dishes. You might know that you intend to replace that table and chairs you've had for years and didn't love in the first place but do you want to spend all day, every day, in a new country hurriedly buying stuff to get by with until you're settled and there's time to choose carefully? Do you want to buy new stuff before you've settled and you know how much cash flow you have?

I'd look at the shipping cost as an investment in free time in a new country and pressure removed. That's if there are no kids and dogs involved; if there are then having familiar objects is more important.

scilly

Problem is usually that you arrive before the shipping container arrives, so you still have to go out shopping for "essentials" ...... which may include some furniture such as beds, as well as items for cooking and eating.

Atlantic Xpat

Disagree - Or at least, suggest that the OP research very carefully cost of buying furniture / household items in Canada. I didn't bring anything other than pictures, clothes & books and regretted it. Furniture is expensive in Canada and depending upon where you live might be difficult to come by. (I can't pop down to IKEA for example). I wish I had. Starting from scratch was painful and more expensive than I anticipated.

Siouxie

Ordering online for basics isn't really arduous - most of the big box stores offer online shopping and delivery... and a quick trip to Walmart and the local $ store will provide cheap items to keep you going.. easily achieved in a day or 2.

Before I had managed to buy a new computer here (since then anything I've needed has been purchased online and delivered) I got a mattress, bedframe, a couch, a table and chairs, bedside table, coffee table and end tables in a couple of hours at one store when I got my first place, delivered. The following day I went to Walmart to get sheets, duvet and covers, pillows, towels, a set of crockery (plates, side plates, bowls, mugs) and a set of saucepans, coffee maker, kettle, toaster etc., .. then to the $ store to pick up cutlery, kitchen utensils, tea towels and other odds and ends.. everything done in 2 days. Prices can be easily found online and compared..

It's really not that big of a deal.

dbd33

I won't deal with Walmart, that's not an option for me.

scilly

We arrived here with very little, except books, clothes, and wedding presents. It wasn't a case of deciding not to bring anything, but we left the UK 10 days after we got married and neither of us had had any furniture of our own.

We stayed a little while in the US before we moved up to Vancouver, and got a furnished apartment which was very lucky because we literally had no furniture. The crate from the UK took almost 2 months to arrive ........... it was so good to see some "new" clothes, but the US charged duty on the wedding presents. The cheap pots and pans, cutlery etc that we bought to get us through until the crate arrived went to the camping gear.

We moved up here still without any furniture, though we had accumulated pots and pans, camping equipment, more clothes and books, and had bought several paintings and other art work. Canada didn't charge us any duty because we'd had the wedding presents longer than was then considered "new".

No furnished apartment., so we rented an unfurnished apartment, slept on air mattresses with sleeping bags (from the camping equipment). The crate from the US had arrived before us, we just had to get it out of customs storage, and we had decent pots and pans, china, glassware, etc once again.

We went to Sears (remember them???), asked if we could use our Sears America card to buy furniture. No ............ but you can change your card for one of ours (Sears Canada), and start using it immediately

5 minutes later, we were in the furniture department buying a hide-a-bed and 2 tub chairs. They were delivered next day.

OH's father had given us money to "furnish one room", as he said he would have paid for that if we had stayed in the UK. We had deposited that money in an English bank because we didn't know where we were going to end up, but now we knew we would be here for at least 2 years (contract), we had to arrange for that money to be transferred over.

Once it arrived, we went down town to Copenhagen Teak, took about 2 hours to buy a bed, 2 chests of drawers, a coffee table, and 2 lamps (one floor lamp and one wall lamp).

Delivered next day, and hide-a-bed moved into the living room.

At some point during all this, we saw a dining table and 6 chairs advertised for sale by someone who lived close by, bought those, stripped and stained them.

Apartment fully furnished.

We still have all that furniture 53 years later, except for the hide-a-bed which has been replaced, plus a lot more.

Like Siouxie, we didn't spend a lot of time setting ourselves up, and we've been happy with what we bought all those years ago.

Siouxie

Surely you don't need to deal with Walmart or anywhere else for basics - you've been here 40 odd years, by now you should have everything you need. This isn't about you (I know that's hard to accept)..

For a newcomer it's an easy option, a one stop shop for basics.

dbd33

Sure, not everyone feels the need to take a moral position when spending but, even if you substitute an ethical retailer, shopping seems like an expensive waste of time on arrival in a new country. That said, I have a colleague who has an apartment in Hawaii, whenever he goes there his first report is of this weeks' bargains at Costco so, for some people, big box is bliss.