Hire Movers or Do it Yourself?

Leaving New York was difficult, but one positive thing was that U of T would pay for our move.  I could hire movers!  What a relief since moving is such a pain and I’d never splurged for professional movers before.  We ended up hiring a company recommended by the university.  I quickly learned that long distance moves work much differently than in-town moves.  They load up your things one day and then they wait to fill a full semi-truck in route to your destination (I suppose they’ve figured this to be the best use of their resources).  They commit to deliver your things to your new location within 3 to 21 days (varies slightly depending on the moving company).  What?!  3 to 21 days!  What kind of range is that?  Eventually I got used to the idea and just figured it was the only option.  So the next thing to plan was what to take with us in the car that we would need while waiting for our things to arrive, but it couldn’t REALLY take 21 days could it?  Well, actually it can even take longer!

Sparing you the details we actually moved things from both MN and NYC, and at the end of the day here is what each move looked like: 

• Day 0:  Movers come (took over 6 hours to pack our 380 sq. ft. NYC apartment & they ripped siding of the house in MN).
• Day 1:  We drive to Toronto with our car loaded with necessities. 
• Day 21: Last committed day for our things to arrive, but they don’t. 
• Day 25:  The driver arrives with our things so we drive out to clear customs.
• Total Cost:  $3,600 USD 
• 25 days without our things

Some of the things to keep in mind with a full-service mover:  (1) The moving company will provide you with a list of goods they are moving for you; you need to have this list of your goods when you arrive in Canada.  (2) The moving company can be a resource for you regarding customs regulations.  (3) You will need to meet the driver to clear your things through customs on the day they arrive in Canada if moving from another country; this is about 30 minutes outside of Toronto.  Overall, I wouldn’t recommend the full service moving company approach.  It is hard enough to move to a new country and not know anyone, but to not be able to get settled was the toughest thing for me.  But is there an alternative?!  I haven’t found a full service moving company that seems like a true alternative, but if I had to do it over again here’s what I would have done: 

• Rent a U-Haul 
• Hire people to pack and load in NYC 
• Drive U-Haul to Toronto 
• Hire people to unload in Toronto 
• Estimated cost:  $2,000 USD 
• Plus your things arrive with you!!!

Food for thought.  But, if you’re going to do it yourself, make sure you understand what will be required at the border before you pack!