I need your advice!

[Hypatia]

Here's the last time I'm going to gloat: I'M MOVING TO CANADA IN AUGUST! Okay, that was the last one, I promise!

Here's the big issue: how the hell do I get all my things up to Canada? My things consist of my car, my books (which are numerous) and my threads. One thing I am definitely not doing is driving. (Road trips are, in my humble opinion, a glorious waste of time.) Has anyone ever moved to Canada or out of the country? How do I ship my car? Any advice from you dudes would be greatly appreciated!

This is the kind of thing I would ask the Board before I was a writer.

Hype

[TheBlackSheep]

You, my dear, have clearly never done the road trip to Edmonton. It will change your mind.

If you decide to reform, let me know and I will give you some glorious things to see along your way.

Also, CANADA IS AWESOME.

[Dead Cat]

If you're absolutely set against going on a road trip, maybe you could pay a friend to do it for you? There's probably some moving service out there (but it's late and not in the mood to look it up right now).

[Waldorf and Sauron]

Sell your car and buy a new one?

Having a car shipped is really expensive. I'd imagine having it shipped to canada would be even more expensive. Here's some possibilities:
http://www.movecars.com/toc/find/index.htm#canada-us

See if you can load up your car with your stuff before they pick it up (some won't let you or will charge extra). If you have a little more than it'll hold, mail it. If you have much more stuff than that, I recommend http://www.upack.com/ to ship your stuff.

If you decide you need to do a road trip, you can have u-haul install a hitch on your car (even a little car can take one), and get a tiny trailer. That's how we moved from Utah to Seattle and from Seattle to LA. I agree that road trips suck, but audiobooks and podcasts can make them more bearable.

[Katya]

Where in Canada are you moving?

[NerdGirl]

Where in Canada are you moving?

Yeah, this. And where are you moving from? When I moved from Provo back to Alberta, my parents came down and we drove back with the last of my stuff. I have a friend at school who moved here (Nova Scotia) from Wisconsin (I think) and she just rented a U-haul. She had furniture and a turtle and a whole bunch of stuff. She said it was way cheaper than shipping stuff would have been. When I move back to Alberta this May, I'm planning on just shipping most of my stuff, though, because I don't have a car or anyone to drive for me. International shipping is much more expensive, though, so really, I think you should just drive with as much stuff as you can fit. Unless you're moving from San Diego to Newfoundland or some crazy distance like that.

[Hypatia]

I'm moving to Edmonton! I'm so excited! Cost is not an issue at all since I'm getting it reimbursed so I'm just looking for the quickest way to safely get my things up north.

[Katya]

Cost is not an issue at all since I'm getting it reimbursed . . .

There's no cap to the reimbursement? Because, like NerdGirl said, it's going to be pretty expensive to have your car shipped.

When I moved from Illinois to Maine, I didn't have any furniture, so I boxed up my books and left them with a friend, who sent them after me when I found a place to live, and I just packed everything else I was taking into my car. As far as packing books goes, I recommend lots of little boxes. Big boxes are too heavy, or they're not sturdy enough if you only fill them up halfway. Just go to an office supply store and stock up on as many 15"x15"x15" boxes as you need.

And if I were making the move, I would definitely drive it myself; it's only 18 hours and it would be much simpler than trying to ship your car and everything else, although I don't know much about getting all your stuff through customs.

[NerdGirl]

Oh, totally drive! That's like a 2-day drive, with hardly any traffic once you get out of Utah (and as long as you bypass downtown Calgary). It's a lot easier to get your stuff through customs if you are traveling with your stuff. You just tell them that it's your personal effects and it's fine. But when you ship stuff, it can get held up in customs. For weeks, sometimes. It's very slow. And stuff can get lost and broken. If you really, really don't want to drive, one thing you could do is get someone else to drive your car full of your stuff (and probably hauling a u-haul trailer or something), and give them a signed letter from you explaining that it's your personal effects and you're moving. I did that a couple of times when my parents came down to visit and took a bunch of my stuff home with them, and it was always fine. But if at all possible, stay with your stuff or have someone you know personally stay with your stuff. And I can seriously give you all kinds of info about potential places to stay overnight and places to get awesome food along the way. I was born in Edmonton, and we moved to a little town 3 hours south of Calgary when I was 9, and I've made the trip from Provo-Southern Alberta and the trip from Southern Alberta-Edmonton more times than I can probably even count. You could even stop at my house along the way and I could feed you lunch!

[Hypatia]

NerdGirl, that is so sweet of you!! I'll let you know closer to my move date what I decide but I'm pretty sure I will not be driving. Two days of driving seems so wasteful. Plus, I don't want to put all those miles on my baby! And my whole family is planning on helping me move; they will not fit in my little jetta. Long story short: driving is not an option (though I would LOVE to grab lunch with a loyal Board fan!).

The customs thing sounds terrible! How much time should I anticipate my move to take? A week between shipping and receiving? Gah! It's not even a real country! This shouldn't be so difficult!

[Hypatia]

I think it's so funny that so many people suggest I allow someone else to drive my car! I guess I'm waaaay too protective of my baby; the thought of someone else driving my car such a long distance gives me the shivers!

[Katya]

Gah! It's not even a real country!

FYI, this attitude probably won't go over well in your new home.

[NerdGirl]

NerdGirl, that is so sweet of you!! I'll let you know closer to my move date what I decide but I'm pretty sure I will not be driving. Two days of driving seems so wasteful. Plus, I don't want to put all those miles on my baby! And my whole family is planning on helping me move; they will not fit in my little jetta. Long story short: driving is not an option (though I would LOVE to grab lunch with a loyal Board fan!).

The customs thing sounds terrible! How much time should I anticipate my move to take? A week between shipping and receiving? Gah! It's not even a real country! This shouldn't be so difficult!

It *shouldn't* take more than a week for your stuff to show up, but I've heard some horror stories where it took 3 weeks to a month. Sometimes weird things happen and the shipping company sends it to customs in Toronto and the it has to get back across the country to you. If nothing gets horribly screwed up, then a week to 10 days is about how long it should take. But the first Monday in August is a holiday here, and that can slow things down a bit if you're moving around that time. So just make sure you have a decent amount of clothing and important things with you. Also, I've seen it snow in every month of the year in Alberta, but summer snow is just a freak thing that melts after a day and it doesn't even get cold when it happens. And it's really uncommon for it to happen as far north as Edmonton, but it might, so bring some non-sandals with you just in case.

And if you run into a Simpsons fan, you will get 50 bonus points for referring to Canada as "America Junior" or "America's Hat".

[Foreman]

Hypie, I will drive your stuff up in a rental truck for a fee that is less than you would pay for shipping or a professional mover (whatever that ends up being). I would tow your car behind the truck, if you'd trust me with it (we drive almost the same car! Both manuals, even! You can trust me!). And if not, I guess your only option is to ship it.

Which is patently ridiculous. Just saying.

[Marduk]

Edmonton huh? Say hi to my relatives.