How to move belongings?

[Klee 6]

My fiancee is moving from Canada to the U.S. in May. She has her K1 visa and she'll be ready to emigrate. 

 

The problem we keep coming to is how to move her belongings. She doesn't have a TON of things. Basically all of her clothes, makeup, electronics, craft supplies, etc. No furniture, less than a room of things. 

What is the cheapest way to get these things delivered to my house (her new residence).

 

Thanks. 

[mrsu 2]

I moved down from Alberta to Nebraska in Dec 2014. I made the decision not to move a vehicle down and to sell most of my stuff other than clothes  personal items. So we had the option of renting a uhaul truck or my fiancee driving up with truck and horse trailer to get my things. We priced it all out and it ended up being cheapest for us to avoid uhaul and he drove up empty and went home with my things. We then had a hired hand we hired from Canada and when they moved down they put their things in a shipping container and had them shipped here for about $1200. I don't know if that helps but the uhaul option was not great, it was a lot of money and we really didn't need that much room. Plus a lot of the trucks did not seem to be in the greatest mechanical condition for a long trip like that. 

Good luck with the move. Remember she will need to label boxes with numbers and have a list at border crossing with each numbered box and what it's contents are

[Klee 6]

1 minute ago, mrsu said:

I moved down from Alberta to Nebraska in Dec 2014. I made the decision not to move a vehicle down and to sell most of my stuff other than clothes  personal items. So we had the option of renting a uhaul truck or my fiancee driving up with truck and horse trailer to get my things. We priced it all out and it ended up being cheapest for us to avoid uhaul and he drove up empty and went home with my things. We then had a hired hand we hired from Canada and when they moved down they put their things in a shipping container and had them shipped here for about $1200. I don't know if that helps but the uhaul option was not great, it was a lot of money and we really didn't need that much room. Plus a lot of the trucks did not seem to be in the greatest mechanical condition for a long trip like that. 

Good luck with the move. Remember she will need to label boxes with numbers and have a list at border crossing with each numbered box and what it's contents are

Thanks a lot for the helpful response. Since we are flying, we are considering putting many of her belongings in luggage and then shipping the rest via UPS (or something similar). We will definitely have a list at the border for luggage. And then I believe I read somewhere that we'll need a form for the shipped belongings. 

[mrsu 2]

You're welcome

Yeah if you are flying I would say that luggage would be a good place to start although you might want to research out the cost of airlines to see which ones charge what and whatbtheir weight restricyions are ahead of time. We fly a lot but generally fly first class to avoid baggage fees but I know some are a lot more than others as far as cost. I believe, but I'm not 100% sure that you can ship cross border  (with the proper paperwork) via greyhound bus lines and it's relatively cheap for price, although it's been a few years since I looked into it, but that might be an option for shipping as UPS can be pretty pricey. 

[AstroCanada 206]

The really annoying thing about moving between the US and Canada is that they got rid of surface (ground shipping).  Now everything is the expensive first class rate, which is a lot when you don't care about how quickly it moves.  USPS also raised their rates a lot recently to reflect the high prices that Canada Post charges.  We moved with a moving company, but that was because we needed to all the way across the country and didn't want to give up some furniture...I can tell you that is pricey.

 

Maybe look into a U-Haul

[hollycenations 11]

My husband is planning on bringing his stuff along on his flight via checked baggage. He just has clothes, odds-and-ends, and his disassembled computer. That seems like it will be a lot cheaper than shipping. ($25/$35 per bag with United)

[NikLR 13,227]

Check out upack and other moving companies (which ship by weight).  I personally drove down with my husband in a uhaul.  18 hours from central Alberta to Denver.  

I noticed recently that some people moved here in my neighborhood. They shipped their belongings and drove in a rented RV.  A rather nice way to move I think with perhaps less expense than hotel rooms and eating out. 

[sarrobo 18]

I moved from the US to Canada 6 years ago - I used ABF UPack. They delivered a huge trailer to my home (or you can bring your stuff to their location in your city), we packed it, then picked it up 3 days later and then notified me when it arrived in my city in Canada, and delivered it there. 3 days for unpacking. I think it was just under $1200 for ~2000 mile move, but, again, I had a lot of stuff. Excellent service and communication, no issues whatsoever. Now that my husband and I are moving back to the US, I most likely plan on using them again. I think they do free quotes on their site, too.

 

https://www.upack.com/abf

[zeilend 1]

14 hours ago, mrsu said:

I moved down from Alberta to Nebraska in Dec 2014. I made the decision not to move a vehicle down and to sell most of my stuff other than clothes  personal items. So we had the option of renting a uhaul truck or my fiancee driving up with truck and horse trailer to get my things. We priced it all out and it ended up being cheapest for us to avoid uhaul and he drove up empty and went home with my things. We then had a hired hand we hired from Canada and when they moved down they put their things in a shipping container and had them shipped here for about $1200. I don't know if that helps but the uhaul option was not great, it was a lot of money and we really didn't need that much room. Plus a lot of the trucks did not seem to be in the greatest mechanical condition for a long trip like that. 

Good luck with the move. Remember she will need to label boxes with numbers and have a list at border crossing with each numbered box and what it's contents are

If you don't mind me asking, what made the U-Haul a pain? We're going from Montreal to Brooklyn, which isn't it a terrible drive, but I have concerns about the ability to pick-up / drop-off in different countries.

[HollywoodNorth 22]

I'd pay a little extra and rent a truck from Penske or Budget commercial.

 

U-hauls are deathtraps. Plus they can ding you with a ton of extra charges [read the fine print].

 

 

[NikLR 13,227]

Our uhaul was fine.  Theyre driven long distance often so do your diligence and check the fluids and tire pressure before going anywhere long distance, just like any other vehicle.  Jmo obviously.  Get gas often. 

 

Also the other brands are not necessarily available either, so sometimes you're stuck with what you have.  

Edited January 26, 2017 by NikLR

[shayden10 78]

I had my interview for my K1 in Montreal on December 21, I live in Ontario and my now husband lives in Delaware, about 11 1/2 hours away. We decided he would drive up and we would go together for the interview then return to my home, where he stayed to celebrate Christmas with my family. We were lucky that the processing and shipping took a week (which would have been shorter if it weren't for postal services being stopped over the holidays! So we received my visa on December 28. His Dad is extremely supportive and was excited for my move so he and my brother-in-law drove up on December 30 for the night. We loaded all of my belongings into my husband's car and my father-in-laws truck, including furniture. It was like playing tetris to get everything to fit! But we did it. I have a few belongings left in Canada that either I will get when I visit or my parents will bring when they visit. That was the easiest and cheapest way we could move everything. With that being said my husband and I got our home last summer, I brought down a chest of drawers and kitchen stuff earlier. So in all we had three vehicles filled with belongings. Be careful moving belongings prior to receiving her K1, I did once successfully but upon trying a second time I was denied entry. We drove back through a snow storm and the drive took 15 hours, but it was still worth it, so if you can do it that way, I would recommend it!

[caliliving 606]

hey in terms of shipping, the best thing to do for luggage is to get hockey bags!!!

get HUGE hockey bags, no pockets etc and no wheels!

and then roll up your clothes and fill it up! I also fit in rollerblades, skates, clothes hangers etc!

suitcases weigh SO MUCH with those wheels and u can't fit much in! I fit SO MUCH in with the hockey bags and they don't weigh much! I was able to travel all my clothes with 2 hockey bags plus my carry on, and another personal carry on with all my electronics...

I also decided to ship my snowboard down months later:)  u can also pay for an extra piece of luggage but again, a cheap 20$ huge hockey bag is the way to go!!! 

[caliliving 606]

5 hours ago, shayden10 said:

I had my interview for my K1 in Montreal on December 21, I live in Ontario and my now husband lives in Delaware, about 11 1/2 hours away. We decided he would drive up and we would go together for the interview then return to my home, where he stayed to celebrate Christmas with my family. We were lucky that the processing and shipping took a week (which would have been shorter if it weren't for postal services being stopped over the holidays! So we received my visa on December 28. His Dad is extremely supportive and was excited for my move so he and my brother-in-law drove up on December 30 for the night. We loaded all of my belongings into my husband's car and my father-in-laws truck, including furniture. It was like playing tetris to get everything to fit! But we did it. I have a few belongings left in Canada that either I will get when I visit or my parents will bring when they visit. That was the easiest and cheapest way we could move everything. With that being said my husband and I got our home last summer, I brought down a chest of drawers and kitchen stuff earlier. So in all we had three vehicles filled with belongings. Be careful moving belongings prior to receiving her K1, I did once successfully but upon trying a second time I was denied entry. We drove back through a snow storm and the drive took 15 hours, but it was still worth it, so if you can do it that way, I would recommend it!

Yes, DO NOT move anything before a valid visa!!! that is a sure flag way to get turned around at the border!!!

fill up those hockey bags I tell u! lol they are the best way to pack in a lot of stuff with the most surface area/lightest thing! or ship things.. and u can ALWAYS come back later for the rest (I lived at home with my parents so I still had a few things left there! mostly pictures, albums ect.)

[shayden10 78]

7 hours ago, caliliving said:

Yes, DO NOT move anything before a valid visa!!! that is a sure flag way to get turned around at the border!!!

fill up those hockey bags I tell u! lol they are the best way to pack in a lot of stuff with the most surface area/lightest thing! or ship things.. and u can ALWAYS come back later for the rest (I lived at home with my parents so I still had a few things left there! mostly pictures, albums ect.)

Haha from experience it's not a good idea to move things before hand. We were driving and it's 4 hours to the border and we got turned around twice in the same day, and I went through secondary screening every time I visited after. 

 

I definitely agree with the hockey bags! My husband plays hockey so he brought two hockey bags that I was able to stuff clothes and shoes into. I also brought a regular suitcase for when I travel, so I had that too. If I was going by plane I would have just taken the hockey bags. If you have family in Canada still, ask if you can leave a couple boxes, it will definitely take some pressure off! 

 

Best of luck!!