Logistics of a move - help!

[MrsZB]

Hi, we are highly likely to be moving abroad this time next year.

One of the things that I can't get my head around is how you manage when your belongings are in transit. I have read that it might take around 6 weeks for furniture etc to be shipped to Canada.

So what do you do when your furniture is in transit?!

I would be very grateful for any advice because this has been niggling away at me!

Many thanks:)

We went to the 99p shop and bought basic items. We also used an inflatable mattress.

We also bought some cheap camp folding chairs.

Basically camped out. Ours was 3 weeks Dublin to UK.

Canadian end:

6 weeks of toastie making/microwave meals or six weeks of touristy eating out for "research" purposes!
Buy mattresses to sleep on, either to replace what's due to arrive (don't bother shipping them) or if yours are relatively new then blow up mattress or cheap ones you can take to skip later.
Invest in a mini fridge for milk/butter/cheese or put them on windowsill if cold enough
Buy a travel kettle unless buying new anyway because of different plug/electrics.
Buy cheap picnic utensils/plates or disposable paper/plastic unless buying new anyway
Take laptop/kindle on plane with you
Buy a rail for your clothes you bring in suitcase/capsule wardrobe if poss/drip dry if poss
Plain shower curtain you can keep up anyway to protect yours (if you are shipping yours, mine was left behind cos well it's cheap plastic)

Alternatively if work can pay/you can afford it then a six week temporary let or Travelodge room rental.

Six weeks will go quicker than you think.

UK end: same applies. Live out the suitcase/clothes you will take with you.
Microwave/Futon you won't be taking or blow-up mattress
Minimal set of cooking/eating utensils

Thank you, thank you both. This is really helpful. So you basically make do as best as possible. That makes sense. Our budget will be fairly tight but we do have camping stuff!

Thank you again, and love to hear from anyone else with any tips or advice.

Or of course you weigh up the cost of shipping against replacement.
Future employer might pay shipping or lump sum equivalent for replacement
Flog the lot/give away/relatives store
Only you can weigh up what is easiest/what you can live without

Is it part of a job relocation? In which case are you getting a few months salary for setting up there? Are you getting a short term accommodation like an apartment paid for at the beginning?

We had Ikea furniture in the UK and rented out our house so left the house furnished and shipped personal items like books, clothes etc. We bought at Ikea in the new country and had to buy electronics from scratch.

Ah, you are doing it yourself? No company involvement? (Usually shipping/initial relocation expenses part of the deal).
Make sure you look for competitive quotes and make it clear that you are paying, not a company (if they think company paying, it's automatically kerrching).

Oh and re white goods, you need to decide if they are usable and worth taking (fridge freezer for example has to "stand"/recover).
Anything left behind as furnished you are responsible for replacing. We rented out as unfurnished but "sold" items for a nominal sum £5 on the basis they were not on inventory and were not part of house.

Thanks everyone. This is so helpful. We only just found out yesterday that it is definitely happening so I'm still reeling a bit!

Re the questions, my husband has a job lined up. They will give us £5K relocation costs and pay legal stuff e.g. Visas etc.

So we won't have that much budget. Our furniture is mostly old/worn but we do have fuck tons of books as well as everything else.

I don't think we get furnished apartment or anything unfortunately. It is likely to be a permanent move but we haven't decided whether to rent our house or sell.

Try to send the stuff ahead and stay with family in the uk for a few weeks so you don't have to wait as long at the other end.

Thanks Cant. Current plan is to travel out once schools break up next July and no family within commuting distance of the school unfortunately! I did wonder about taking a couple of weeks to get there via a holiday but remembered that we will likely have pets with us so can't do that!

I think the popular website for second hand stuff is Craigslist.

vancouver.craigslist.ca/search/fua

britishexpats.com/forum/canada-56/

This might be useful

britishexpats.com/forum/canada-56/shipping-uk-canada-our-story-advice-882682/

Thanks Butterly!

It's easy to rent furniture.

We've done it a few times on international moves although we more usually moved into temporary furnished accommodation.

I'd also strongly recommend getting rid of everything you don't really need. It's so much easier to move will less stuff. Have you been given a flat £5K for the move? Will you have to arrange the removal company yourself?

Do you want to say where you are moving to in Canada? We lived there for a long while and thoroughly enjoyed it.

Thanks Ghjklf. Yes I think it's just £5k which doesn't sound a lot to me unfortunately. Yes I think we need to arrange everything. I don't want to say what the job is but it's not for a private company so they don't have much free reign on expenditure.

Yes definitely having a major clear out! We have a lot of stuff.

It's Toronto, job will be in the main downtown bit.

Thanks again everyone- this is really helpful as I haven't ever moved abroad.

Toronto, that's fab. I'm excited for you. 😎 🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦 Toronto is expensive though. 😫

5k is bugger all for an international move...we paid that for European and that was a decade ago.
I honestly would consider then renting your house out* furnished, taking the 5k and buying out there.
Box your books and ask relative to store in attic. Keep current accounts in UK just in case.
*The only issue then is with tax, you need to make sure you are not deemed ordinarily resident (unless UK company and not being paid locally) if you still have mortgage you need to make sure rent will cover 125%/get correct insurance. If you do make a profit you will pay tax (the way it's going it will be harder for expats to rent out anyway), also CGT to think of if selling later, repairs etc and currently mortgage interest (but not necessarily in the future) can be legitimate expenses so you break even rather than incurring tax but it all depends on:
Can you envisage coming back/is it a short term experiment?
Can you detach yourself from thinking as your house as a "home"?
Do you have the time to mail/mediate with letting agent re repairs/burst pipes etc
Will you have any buffer for expenses like a new boiler or tenants not being able to pay/needing to be evicted legally?
Canada sounds exciting though.

I posted Canada flag emojis but they've turned into C A C A. No idea why.

I agree that £5k is bugger all. I can remember getting three times that plus all removal costs 25 years ago. 😂 ..... those were in the good old days of expat excess.

Buy deck chairs, and outdoor patio furniture. Put it in your future back yard once your container arrives.

i think it is good advise to either sell your furniture or rent your house house furnished.

It cost me €3000 to move from Dublin to UK approx 5 years ago. This was a modest 3 bedroom house.

You have to also factor in that your existing furniture may not fit in the new place or suit it.

Price up what you could buy second hand on ebay, craigslist and see how far your £5k gets you.

We left furniture in uk (rented house out furnished in UK ). Flew stuff over. Some stuff in storage in uk (were coming back, and not shipping hammers, posh wine glasses etc round the world).
Dh went before us. He lived in a fully furnished best for 2 months. I packed most stuff a couple of weeks before we flew.most people end up with several versions of essentials (veg pealers, corkscrews).

If your furniture is old, or cheep don't bother shipping, sell/donate, and rebuy.

Thanks everyone- this is so helpful. It's a permanent position so as long as we settle in ok then it is likely to be permanent... eek!

Can anyone hazard a guess at what would be a decent resettlement package? They are keen to get us there and are helpful so we could probably negotiate up.

All our furniture is pretty old tbh.

We borrowed from family such as our tv and microwave. We made do where we could, we didn't take all of our things though, we left the bed and sofa behind x

i would get a quote from Whites & Co for your contents to be moved
see (britishexpats.com/forum/canada-56/shipping-uk-canada-our-story-advice-882682/)

I would also either get onto the expat forum and post for advise on how much rent you will roughly expect to pay, where are good areas to live. How much it would cost to purchase new/second hand furniture.

Then with this information you will be in a better position to negotiate a relocation package. Will you get medical insurance?

Also with renting, how much deposit will you be expected to pay out.

Not sure if Canada is still this way, but will your husband's visa allow you to work if you wish too?
Your credit history will also be non-existent so you will need help opening bank accounts, maybe even getting a rental property.

I seem to recall also that when you buy a car, the licence plate goes with the seller to go onto their new car. Also ask about whether anyone knows a company that will accept your no claims bonus from UK. You will also have a set time in which to re-sit your driving test to get a Canadian licence (possibly a year). My info may be out of date, going on stories from a friend approx 10 years ago. :)