Moving personal belongings....

[bradybunchmom]

I am getting a head of myself but I want to plan ahead for financial reasons and to make sure I can land right away when that time comes. So what have you found to be the most affordable way to move your stuff to Canada especially from the states? I have our stuff stored in California and look forward to having my things again. Also what are the steps when bringing through customs and does it need to happen when you land?
Thank you for any advice.

 

[taffy7]

When you land you will give the officer a B4 form . This is a CBSA form that is a goods to follow form. You can find it on line . You fill out the form 1 /what ever and the cost of whats its worth in CDN DOLLARS . Make two copies and they will stamp it when you land .

 

[TracyCa64]

I am getting a head of myself but I want to plan ahead for financial reasons and to make sure I can land right away when that time comes. So what have you found to be the most affordable way to move your stuff to Canada especially from the states? I have our stuff stored in California and look forward to having my things again. Also what are the steps when bringing through customs and does it need to happen when you land?
Thank you for any advice.

Hi bradybunchmom!
I am in the same situation as you. My stuff is in storage in California as well. I hate paying that monthly payment too, especially with the bad exchange rate. Lol

I looked into this before I came to Canada. I am going to be using this company Navis https://www.gonavis.com/
You can check out their website and get a quote. They have contract offices in areas that will pick up your boxes, weigh it and get it ready for Navis. Navis will pick up and then they will drive it to Canada. The quotes go by weight, so if you know about how many boxes & the weight they can give you an idea of the price. I was actually working with a gal at Navis to have my boxes shipped before I found out that I could not do that until I had PR.
I hope this helps, let me know if you have any other questions.
Smiles!

 

[Aquakitty]

The cheapest way is going to be moving it yourself with a Uhaul. The key is to have an organised B4 form prepared ahead of time. Then just drive your stuff to the border and land.

 

[TracyCa64]

I am getting a head of myself but I want to plan ahead for financial reasons and to make sure I can land right away when that time comes. So what have you found to be the most affordable way to move your stuff to Canada especially from the states? I have our stuff stored in California and look forward to having my things again. Also what are the steps when bringing through customs and does it need to happen when you land?
Thank you for any advice.

When I packed my boxes I numbered them and wrote the contents on the box. I made up an inventory sheet listing each box# and the contents so that when the shipment gets to Canada they would have a list of items.

 

[Sunset0505]

We are looking into shipping/driving etc...Mayflower just gave as a quote of $10,700 USD...they have lost their minds!!!...Uhaul is around $2500...we are planning on diving from Virginia to Vancouver anyways as this will be, I am sure, the only time we will be doing this drive in our lives..When I moved to the States I had each box numbered and a separate piece of paper for each box and had listed everything in each box...I went through Peace Arch and they are known for not being neat about looking in boxes/cars/trucks/trunks...lol...I figured if I was organized.......going back I am planning on doing the same thing...

 

[TracyCa64]

The cheapest way is going to be moving it yourself with a Uhaul. The key is to have an organised B4 form prepared ahead of time. Then just drive your stuff to the border and land.

I wish it was that easy for me. I would have to fly to California since I am in Canada, rent a Uhaul and drive from California to Ontario. I don't know what that would cost with gas, hotels & food, but not something that would be worth saving a few bucks. I was quoted $2100 to have my boxes transported by truck to Canada.
I guess if I was living in Vancouver then driving would be the better choice. ☺

 

[TracyCa64]

We are looking into shipping/driving etc...Mayflower just gave as a quote of $10,700 USD...they have lost their minds!!!...Uhaul is around $2500...we are planning on diving from Virginia to Vancouver anyways as this will be, I am sure, the only time we will be doing this drive in our lives..When I moved to the States I had each box numbered and a separate piece of paper for each box and had listed everything in each box...I went through Peace Arch and they are known for not being neat about looking in boxes/cars/trucks/trunks...lol...I figured if I was organized.......going back I am planning on doing the same thing...

WOW!! That is nuts!! Do you have any furniture or just boxes? I have about 100 boxes, no furniture at all. I don't blame you for driving it yourself. If I had to I would, but this company Navis I found seems reasonable. The quote I had was almost 2 years ago so it might have changed a bit. But $10,700 is just nuts!!

 

[taffy7]

When I packed my boxes I numbered them and wrote the contents on the box. I made up an inventory sheet listing each box# and the contents so that when the shipment gets to Canada they would have a list of items.

Thats what we did also .. We then gave that this to the office when we landed except we printed out on the PERSONAL,EFFECTS ACCOUNTING DOCUMENT . The officer was really pleased we had it all organized. We were in and out withing 15 mins. Now we are waiting for our things to be shipped from the U.K.

 

[TracyCa64]

Thats what we did also .. We then gave that this to the office when we landed except we printed out on the PERSONAL,EFFECTS ACCOUNTING DOCUMENT . The officer was really pleased we had it all organized. We were in and out withing 15 mins. Now we are waiting for our things to be shipped from the U.K.

Oh good! Soo glad that I did that. I have a copy of it in the storage with my boxes so that the company will know what they are transporting and I have a copy with me here in Canada.

So when I land I will need to have the goods to follow form and I can just attach my inventory sheet, you think?

 

[bradybunchmom]

Thank you so much everyone. I looked at uhaul and will be around $2k. I will check out the Navis company. It would be nice to not have to do the actual transport myself.

 

[rugrat907]

Glad this came up because I've been looking for U-Haul alternatives...going from California to just outside of Ottawa and am pretty leery of a drive in the middle of winter through two mountain passes and other potential bad weather. I don't have furniture and not even that many boxes, so I am going to check out Navis as well.

 

[TracyCa64]

Glad this came up because I've been looking for U-Haul alternatives...going from California to just outside of Ottawa and am pretty leery of a drive in the middle of winter through two mountain passes and other potential bad weather. I don't have furniture and not even that many boxes, so I am going to check out Navis as well.

Here is another company. http://gpnslogistics.com/?gclid=CP3x__GHkcoCFQ6SaQod32sKDg

I had called them first, but they didn't have any agents in my area. This company actually referred me to Navis.

Yeah, I wouldn't want to do that drive either. It looks like UHaul is not too cheap either.

 

[taffy7]

Oh good! Soo glad that I did that. I have a copy of it in the storage with my boxes so that the company will know what they are transporting and I have a copy with me here in Canada.

So when I land I will need to have the goods to follow form and I can just attach my inventory sheet, you think?

Yes .. My husband had a moving company that printed out inventory forms these are on his boxes at home. When he goes to pick up the boxes he must take the stamped B4 form with him so he doesn't get charged any taxes.

 

[canusa13]

I moved from California too. We looked at various options of shipping our belongings and it was just so expensive that it wasn't worth it for us. We sold all of our furniture, decorations, kitchen stuff, etc donated and gave away clothes that we haven't worn in a while and just shipped a few boxes and brought a few suitcases (paid extra). We figured that we're better off keeping only our favourite clothes, pictures, etc than paying literally thousands of dollars to move it all. Our stuff wasn't expensive or anything, so there was no point in paying more to move it to Canada than it would be to buy new stuff. Even packing the few boxes and suitcases was stressful and a huge PITA, so I can't imagine packing, moving and unpacking the whole household. From the money we made by selling our belongings, we bought new furniture, new toys for our daughter, winter clothes (we didn't need any in California), etc. I'm really happy with our decision.