|
|
|
Moving out of Province? Pro's & Con's
- Thread starter Jampy00
- Start date
After spending most of my life in the GTA I have developed contacts on where to get odd stuff over the counter, bits of brass, stainless steel, uncommon woods, oddball tools, resins, boat hardware and even baking supplies.That is a big part of like for like.
As an example, living in Toronto where I am I have everything at my finger tips, walking to good restaurants, bars, stores etc. To get like for like means living in a good area likely near the centre of another largish city (like say Halifax, even that is a stretch). Never exactly the same of course. If I moved and did not get at least close to what I have now it means giving up what I enjoy today.
Same would go for the opposite.
Now to me (to be fair), Stouffville and Aurora, not sure I could tell the difference....
Pretty much all of the above is available on line but when I'm building a widget and need a piece of steel tubing I can drop by a supplier and grab a few off-cuts that are close enough in size, .080 wall instead of .060, 1X1 instead of .750 X .750 etc. I only need three feet but will take a five footer. Online doesn't work that way.
Making an object d'art? You need a piece of oak with a certain grain look. Try explaining that to someone's Siri.
Main reason I didn’t move to New Zealand…my offer was from U of Waikato and not Auckland. As I didn’t know too much about that area I did a small bit of research. The university was funded by agricultural research and most of my neighbours would be sheep. I had visions of people running around with Velcro gloves on.
An Australian goes to New Zealand and sees a guy f@cking a sheep on the side of the road. He yells out, "Mate, in Oz we shear our sheep!"
The Kiwi says, "P1ss off, I'm not shearin' her with anyone!"
Mad Mike
Well-known member
I live adjacent to the historic district in Markham. They do restrict changing exterior materials and you have to show repairing is impossible before you can replace. A nightmare for wood sidings and ornamental work, that stuff needs to be hand scraped and spot repaired.
The heritage comitee has a few friends of the district, architects that can get massive additions approved, and a contractors who can replace moldings and wood frame windows.. last check those guys were on the committee. Services are not cheap, but they are good quality and get things passed without opposition.
The bloody minded "Save our history" types are well meaning but taking it too far just delays the arrival of the bulldozer.
In the USA all work on listed buildings must meet stringent rules. Sometimes the finished building isn't worth the cash outlay to restore it so it crumbles to the ground a sacred pile of rubble instead of a usable building with some of the original character.
I get the impression the UK is the same with old manors and castles. Years back I saw a castle for sale for a couple of million. If it could have been restored and modernized it could be a time share for the affluent. Buy in at a million a month plus upkeep.
A few decades ago one was sold for 1 pound. You had to pay the million a year for repairs and upkeep though.
A friend bought a time share in Cape Cod but it was in the dumpiest part of the complex, view of the dumpsters etc.
When he got a better unit he found no one wanted to buy his old one and he was stuck with the upkeep. He eventually found someone about to go bankrupt and sold it to him for a dollar or some silly amount. I assume some bank ended up with it.
We moved to Edmonton from Toronto earlier this year (wife and I) - without having ever visited the place - we did our research online, spoke to family, friends, former colleagues to paint a picture of what we might expect, and went for it. Overall we felt we knew enough to commit to the move. No regrets - we are happy with our decision.
On process:
- We sold most of our furniture on Kijiji early on to lighten the transportation load. Gave away a few bulky items to close friends as well.
- We did 2 drives. First was exploratory to get a feel for the place and find temporary / medium-term accommodation. Second was the actual move, with all the essentials and valuables.
- Canada Post mail forwarding to the new address on a scheduled date.
- We used PODS for moving. We loaded a container at their Mississauga facility and it arrived in Edmonton 10 days later. Good value for money.
- Once we were settled in with basic furniture, we visited the local registry - new province driver's license, health card, out of province vehicle inspection needed to be done, registered the vehicle, new license plate, insurance.
- Then we called medical clinics accepting new patients and eventually found a family doctor. Had an initial meet and greet and all set on the medical front.
- Can't think of much else. I think that sums up process aside from minor details - it was pretty straightforward really...
- If I had to pick out keywords from conversations we had with people prior to the move, the list would look something like this. Positive: affordable, open/spacious, river valley, parks/nature/wildlife/mountains, jobs, good food. Neutral: cold, dry, sunny, blue collar, pick-up trucks. Negative: racist, rednecks, crime, drug addicts, homeless, traffic, somali gangs, boring. We have seen/experienced all of the positive and neutral ones for sure - they hold true. On the negative ones, it's all relative - we're surprised by how multicultural the city is - that wasn't mentioned while racism was. I've seen drug addicts and homeless, especially downtown - this is something we see in all major Canadian cities these days, to varying degrees. Traffic? Lol it's fine. Haven't come across Somali gangs yet... We don't find the city boring at all...
- We made conversation with everyone in our first months. Staff at coffee shops, restaurants, hotels, barber shops, hair salons, showhomes... Wherever we went, we made an effort to know more about the place and the people that live and work here. We learned so much in a short timeframe doing this.
- We spent almost every weekend for the first 4-5 months exploring. To get a feel for different neighbourhoods and potential places to settle down long term.
I guess overall I'd add that if the evidence suggests that making the move will address your specific wants / needs / criteria / circumstances, and it has been well thought through then it probably will be a move for the better. We have never been closer to living the life that we both dreamed of living than we are now (there's just a bit more snow and ice sprinkled in there)...
If you're considering Edmonton as a potential destination, let me know if you have any specific questions. I'd be happy to answer them.
Last edited:
The corollary to this is, "After you move, buy all your furniture from Kijiji (and FB marketplace)"
When we left Toronto, we sold our old furniture online for pennies on the dollar. The reason for such a drastic markdown is that when you buy new furniture, often the delivery charge is built into the purchase price. But when you buy used furniture, you have to arrange your own transportation, and there aren't many people with access to a moving van or pick-up truck. Also, most people who peruse online ads cannot afford to spend 4 to 5 figures on furniture. If you could, then you'd buy new in the first place. Kijiji buyers are looking to spend 2-3 figures instead.
We learned this lesson the hard way leaving TO, but when we arrived on the other side of the country, we were determined to recoup our losses by buying back our furniture (not the exact same pieces, obviously) also for pennies on the dollar.
We managed to furnish our entire house: beds, couches, dining room tables, entertainment wall units, etc. and didn't pay more than $100 per item. Mid-to-high-end stuff as well. Doesn't hurt that there are a lot of well-to-do folks where we live and they seem to refresh their furniture and interior decor annually. They think nothing of selling their hand-crafted $5,000 dining room table for $100 if it means having someone with a strong back show up with a pick-up truck to cart it away.
I'd move to the east coast, cheap houses plus I could ride the cabot trail often.
The riding season out east is even shorter than it is here.
Think of the winter weather...and the fall season of getting the tail end of hurricanes.
I’d move east mostly for the slower pace of life.
Giving me the heebie jeebies...I'd be too worried about bed bugs, roaches and other pests that can come along with used furniture, especially mattresses...
Valid.
You do get to "interview" the previous owner of the furniture. If the place is pristine and you can gauge whether the furniture spent a very short life in an unused guest room or if college kids were the fourth owner and there are cigarette butts and beer bottle empties all over their place.
You can also clean furniture.
But I get it. It's also another reason why furniture sells for pennies on the dollar on the used market.
We did buy our bed brand new.
Kudos.
It sounds like you obeyed the number one rule of moving to a new location. "Don't show up as God's gift to the locals."
My S-I-L lived in Edmonton for a while and said they don't plow the streets in winter. You learn to drive on what's there. Confirm when it comes up.
We got a decent amount of snow last week and yesterday. From what I've seen so far, snow removal is below GTA standards. Major highways - good, major arterial roads - good, collector roads - poor, residential streets - very poor to non-existent. There's more ice on the roads than I'm used to - I've seen traces of sand / salt / chips used but not extensively yet. A few people I've spoken to that live in surrounding towns (Spruce Grove, Devon, Morinville, Fort Saskatchewan) recommend studded tires - no experience with them but they are legal here.
Mad Mike
Well-known member
Giving me the heebie jeebies...I'd be too worried about bed bugs, roaches and other pests that can come along with used furniture, especially mattresses...
Fantastic that you're loving your new place and decision - congrats!
Edmonton is cold. From here till March you may not see 0C (it was 24C yesterday in Toronto). Environment Canada calculates and records averages mu using the mean or the daily high and low eg. avg temp = (daily high + daily low) /2). The further north you go, the fewer hours you get at the daily high, and as the temp drops, windchilling becomes more significant -- it will be MUCH MUCH colder.
Another thing many people notice in their first year is a difference in the winter hours of daylight. In Feb, Edmonton gets 2.5 hours less daylight / day than Toronto - it's dark from 4:45pm till 7:45 AM all winter.
Let us know how differences in cold, snow and daylight hours was for you -- let us know after this winter.
Not that much shorter if at all really. Winter is longer because Fall and Spring are shorter which is fine with me. I’m not riding motorcycles at 5c so just bring on the snow so I can sled which is pretty much how it is there.
Work keeps me here but I’d move East next week if that wasn’t the case. Not for the slower pace (I’m already super rural) but the people’s attitudes are better.
|
|
|
|
|