On the road again...
October 30, 2010 8:06 PM Subscribe
What is the cheapest way to get the contents of a small apartment from Philadelphia to Toronto?
I am looking to move my husband, baby, and roughly half the contents of our one bedroom apartment from Philadelphia to Toronto this December. We both have driver's licenses and are willing to rent things but we prefer to use one-way rentals only. We could return things in Buffalo to keep things in the USA, but we are unwilling to drive all the way back to Philadelphia. Bonus points if you can get our motorcycle there without us having to ride it there.
I am looking to move my husband, baby, and roughly half the contents of our one bedroom apartment from Philadelphia to Toronto this December. We both have driver's licenses and are willing to rent things but we prefer to use one-way rentals only. We could return things in Buffalo to keep things in the USA, but we are unwilling to drive all the way back to Philadelphia. Bonus points if you can get our motorcycle there without us having to ride it there.
If you're not moving furniture (you haven't said), I'd look into the possibility of shipping boxes via UPS or FedEx. This may not be as cost-effective as it is within the US, though.
posted by madcaptenor at 8:24 PM on October 30, 2010
posted by madcaptenor at 8:24 PM on October 30, 2010
Take fewer things. Very few things are actually worth moving. See my previous AskMe answer for detailed guidelines on how to decide.
posted by Jacqueline at 9:14 PM on October 30, 2010
posted by Jacqueline at 9:14 PM on October 30, 2010
Do not ship via UPS. If you have to ship, use US Postal service. The brokerage fees on UPS stuff is killer from the US to Canada. I speak from painful experience.
posted by Ouisch at 11:12 PM on October 30, 2010
posted by Ouisch at 11:12 PM on October 30, 2010
Best answer: We did UHaul from CT to Toronto -- it was as cheap or cheaper than getiing rid of most everything and shipping personal effects only (we'd done that crossing the Atlantic), we got to keep the furniture, and the cost included our own passage as well.
One-ways with a Uhaul should be no problem -- that's what we did. It's the one company that does one-way rentals from the US to Canada. They also have great boxes, with a full-refund on return of any boxes you buy but don't use.
Is it safe to put the motorcycle in a truck? It would fit with your stuff in a large uhaul.
You probably should have a sense or list of what you are bringing in. That said, I know that the limit for Canadian Citizens returning after several years abroad is $10,000 --per item. We didn't know about making a list and got worried at the border when they asked us if our stuff was worth more than $10,000. And we were thinking -- well, we have a couple of computers and a nice camera, but all our furniture was the cheapest Ikea stuff and not more than $800... and then they clarified: they were asking if we had anything that was itself worth more than $10,000. And then we laughed and laughed and laughed.
But you can double check this stuff with the Canadian consulate, just to be sure what you need to know for the border.
posted by jb at 1:18 AM on October 31, 2010
One-ways with a Uhaul should be no problem -- that's what we did. It's the one company that does one-way rentals from the US to Canada. They also have great boxes, with a full-refund on return of any boxes you buy but don't use.
Is it safe to put the motorcycle in a truck? It would fit with your stuff in a large uhaul.
You probably should have a sense or list of what you are bringing in. That said, I know that the limit for Canadian Citizens returning after several years abroad is $10,000 --per item. We didn't know about making a list and got worried at the border when they asked us if our stuff was worth more than $10,000. And we were thinking -- well, we have a couple of computers and a nice camera, but all our furniture was the cheapest Ikea stuff and not more than $800... and then they clarified: they were asking if we had anything that was itself worth more than $10,000. And then we laughed and laughed and laughed.
But you can double check this stuff with the Canadian consulate, just to be sure what you need to know for the border.
posted by jb at 1:18 AM on October 31, 2010
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posted by LobsterMitten at 8:16 PM on October 30, 2010