Moving Companies (Cross-Country)

[anarchy]

Hi all,
I'm accepting a new role that's based in Toronto which means I need to move a 1bdrm condo worth of stuff there plus my car. I considered leaving it here and renting furnished but I think it'll work out cheaper in the long run if I bring my stuff.

Any recommendations on which moving company to use (for furniture and car) and approximate cost I should be looking at?

It's your typical furniture - bed, couple tvs, couple tv stands/benches, sectional couch, coffee table, and a bunch of boxes for clothes, kitchenware etc.

Also any tips on where to live in Toronto would be great too :angel:

Thanks!

[msommers]

Get a moving POD. I know a handful of people that have done this move and this is what they've all used.

http://www.pods.com/canada/

[FixedGear]

I've moved cross-continent several times. Unless your company is paying moving expenses, or you have art furniture pieces that are difficult to replace, it's a much better and easier affair to sell or give away your current furniture and buy new after you move. The cost of moving across country is on par with the cost of new furniture, plus things ALWAYS get damaged (I know this very well from experience).

[Jlude]

I just moved twice in the last 1.5 years, I used united and got a pod, it was more expensive, but better than having them handle my shit twice.

My stuff was damaged both times... so frustrating.

[FixedGear]

^united also damaged almost all of my furniture, and delivered it over a week late.

Edit: also packing guy dripping sweat all over my rare/antique/out-of-print book collection. :barf: :facepalm:

[anarchy]

Hm - well my company gave me a $5K signing bonus to pay for expenses.

My furniture is nothing special and I'mt totally open to buying new but two issues come to mind if I don't move my stuff.
1 - buying new furniture takes time - It'll be difficult to fully furnish my apartment quickly no? I mean how can I move into a place with no bed, no utensils, no TV, no shower curtains lol, nothing. Won't that make my move much more difficult?

2 - there's stuff I still expect to move even if its not the big stuff - all my clothes, sporting gear (hockey, squash etc), Ps4, computer etc. How do I move that stuff? Just pack up boxes and ship it?

[sputnik]

Sell as much as you can.

At the end of the day you will be paying about $1.50-2.00/lb moving your stuff from Calgary to Toronto.

So if you are moving something that weighs 20lbs and is only worth $40 it will almost be worth throwing it away instead of moving it.

Before I moved I probably sold about 2000 lbs worth of stuff and saved a ton of money.

[adamc]

Sell everything and buy new stuff in Toronto.

Unless you are making total baller money, you're going to be living in a smaller space. Ie; Calgary furniture might not fit in Toronto condo so easily.

Renting in Toronto is a total whore most of the time, unless you're being given first crack at a place via friends & family.

Have an up to date credit report, first and last months rent cheques, employment references (with salary), as well as previous landlord references available when you view a place. Good places go *very* quickly.

http://niceplacetoronto.tumblr.com/
viewit.ca
padmapper.com
toronto.kijiji.ca

where to live depends on where you're gonna be working. I'd be happy to suggest 'hoods for you if you post where you'll be working.


1 bedroom (new) ~500sq ft. in a central area will cost you $1400-1600 +hydro (what electricity is called here) +parking ($120-$150 /month secure underground)

The Thompson Hotel on King just finished construction on a bunch of new units, search kijiji for "thompson"

[cosmok]

I've used Crown Relocations, was paid by the company and super expensive. Insurance turn around was two days for the money to be in my account after the claim was filed, so it seems damage is pretty common place.

[anarchy]

I live in a one bedroom condo and secured a one bedroom condo in Toronto so the size is pretty much the same. I'm right at Yonge and Bloor which is costing me an arm and a leg but it's a six minute walk to work so I'm going to sell my car as well.

As for moving costs - I got a quote from one company that quoted me $2500 roughly for the move. I'm open to selling my stuff and buying new but it seems like it would cost me way more than that to replace it all.

So maybe it makes sense to move some of the big items but the replaceable ones, maybe don't move those? Thoughts?

[FixedGear]

^that sounds really cheap. My last move was a 1 bedroom house and only 500 miles, it cost about $4500 USD. (my company paid it, I'd never pay that much to move my generic ass furniture.)

I'd imagine from Calgary to Toronto should be WAY more - plus everything in canada costs twice the price of US anyhow.

[msommers]

Great location! My friend lived in a building right by there - the ground floor had an old church attached to it.

[sputnik]

Originally posted by anarchy
I live in a one bedroom condo and secured a one bedroom condo in Toronto so the size is pretty much the same. I'm right at Yonge and Bloor which is costing me an arm and a leg but it's a six minute walk to work so I'm going to sell my car as well.

As for moving costs - I got a quote from one company that quoted me $2500 roughly for the move. I'm open to selling my stuff and buying new but it seems like it would cost me way more than that to replace it all.

So maybe it makes sense to move some of the big items but the replaceable ones, maybe don't move those? Thoughts?

That is CRAZY cheap. I would be concerned.

When I moved from Calgary to Winnipeg in 2009 I paid $6000 to move about 5000lbs of stuff. Calgary to Toronto would closer to $10,000 under the same circumstances.

[anarchy]

I've got estimates from two companies, waiting for an in-house estimate on Monday for a third.

The first one gave me a quote of $3000 (originally 2500 until we went through a detailed list of what I have) and a second company quoted med $3500), both for 2400 pounds.

The problem is, they're not really able to give me an exact date which makes it hard because I need to book the elevator for my Toronto condo.

[FixedGear]

The other thing to keep in mind is that you get charged for all of the boxes and packing supplies they use when packing your crap. For example, I didn't have the box for my TV, so they used a generic TV box that costs $100. Bed boxes too. They charge you for all the boxes, paper, and they use everything SUPER liberally so they can charge the hell out of your.

I've done several multiple long-distance moves, and would never move any furniture unless it was original, hard-to-replace "art" pieces. It's just way more economical to buy new stuff. Unless, of course, your work is paying for it.

[Jlude]

Don't worry about the exact date, the moving company will let you know when your pod gets to your destination, then you have a 1-2 week window to schedule the delivery/coordinate with your building.

Yes, they are aggressive with the packing material. I got them to pack everything the first time and then did it myself the second time, saved almost $800.

[Cos]

.

[FixedGear]

The other problem is that they are generally late delivering your stuff. Last time I moved, they were 2 weeks late! So I had to live in my new house with just a camping chair, thermorest, and sleeping bag. It totally sucked as I was working from home those weeks too! I was super unproductive and drank a lot haha.