Moving out of Province? Pro's & Con's

[bitzz]

Yesterday in Edmonton

Nov 5th

 

[Jampy00]

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...

Other thoughts:

• 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.

What would we have done differently? Maybe spent a bit of time exploring the city before committing to the move, if we could. (We could not fly at the time because the Federal vaccine mandate meant that I could not fly - even though I had 3 doses in a 6 month period, 2 were abroad and not recognized by Health Canada. Ontario and Health Canada were also not aligned on the definition of "fully vaccinated". I ended up getting a 4th dose as soon as I was able to, for no public or personal health reason, but only to make the logistics of the move possible).

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.

Thanks for this fantastic reply. It really was insightful.
Edmonton is not on my list of places, but I think your advice can be used for any location.

 

[bastak]

@bitzz and tomorrow...

 

[Baggsy]

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.

Ottawa is like that. But in ten years I've only been stuck in my driveway twice. I noticed you didn't include the biggest negative - COLD!

 

[nobbie48]

It's a different kind of move but when you get north of 60 the next place might be conveniently located next to a funeral home. Some logistics are the same but the main difference is the time you have to correct if you pick wrong.

 

[daught]

I moved to BC South coast and I rather live in a van, doge caravan, not sprinter than have a cushy life in TO. It rains a lot in the fall and winter but I look at it as meters of snow in the mountains. Many Ontarians that moved here find it miserable after a few years if they are not in to the amazing sports that can be done here. It's not as exciting as those two weeks as a tourist taking pictures on the Joffre lakes log. Most say people are cold and unrelatable, but I personally I find it way easier to connect with people. I look at Toronto as my purgatory. I could rant on how fulfilled I feel here compared to Toronto. How does this relate to your question? I believe the most important process in relocation is understanding why you are doing it and how well you fit in the community.

The actual move is not that hard.

Ideally you have someone locally that can go see the place and start the lease application. Even better if you stay at an air bnb for the first month and check out a bunch of places. The market is tight so landlord like to meet tennats.

I moved most of the stuff I could get I boxes using LTL freight on a pallet. It was cheap, about $300. The rest I moved with a 5x8 uhaul trailer. I disassembled everything fro Ikea.

Other friends using moving companies. It was way more expressive than my way.

Paperwork, IDs, licenses are easy, no hassle.

Really, there's isn't much process, I would say to focus on ahy you are moving, what you are giving up and what are you gaining.

Whatever happens you will regret not trying a lot more than not trying.


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[gsxr guy]

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