Here’s a Simplified Moving Checklist to Toronto

Moving to another country is never an easy task. Even after you get your visa and your Canadian permanent residence you still need your moving checklist to Toronto to make sure you do not forget anything. Canada Post is great and they can ship a lot of things for you, but they should only be the last resort option as this can cost a lot. With this in mind, let’s take a look at the final walkthrough of your moving boxes, different ways to save money on moving expenses, movers insurance, and more.

Pre-Move Planning (Months Before Moving)

The job of moving to Canada starts even before the actual move. As there is a lot of planning involved, we would suggest that you consider pre-move planning with a family member and give yourself at least a few months to gather important documents and turn a stressful experience into a stress-free move.

This is the first phase of moving to Toronto and this phase includes planning: 

• where to move within the city
• setting your moving budget
• finding a reliable moving company (even an overseas moving company)
• obtaining necessary documents for moving and 
• understanding Canadian customs and regulations.

Researching Neighborhoods in Toronto

Toronto, with 2.6 million population, is the largest city in Canada. It comprises dozens of neighbourhoods, each of which comes with its own peculiarities, pros, and cons.

There are factors to consider when moving to Toronto. These include:

• the size of the neighborhood that you would like to move to
• the job opportunities that you can find there
• the vicinity of your existing workplace if you have one
• the vicinity of the amenities that you will be using daily in your new home
• possible address or neighbourhood restrictions on your work permit
• if you have a closed work permit
• the vicinity of a good public or private school for your children
• the accessibility of large roads and highways if you would like to travel a lot 
• and the prices or rents for an average house if you would like a house as your current home in Toronto

Take a Look at Every Toronto Neighborhood You Need to Know – Where to Live in Toronto Ontario:

Setting Your Moving Budget

Your moving budget is also an important thing to consider before actually moving to another country. What a lot of people forget to think about is that the moving checklist should not include only the expenses for the visa and your living expenses. Within these expenses you should include:

• boxes and packaging materials you need
• extra manpower that will be helping you during the move
• moving company cost
• the costs for your move in your car or on an airplane or a ship
• all the extra expenses you will incur to close your contracts with your existing utilities 
• all the expenses that you will have to set up new utilities once in Canada
• the cost of insurance for a moving which will depend on the total value of your belongings and the number of high-value items you have to transport
• the living expenses for several months upon your arrival to Canada
• the expenses for travel healthcare insurance for the first three months upon your arrival to this country

Finding a Reliable Moving Company

Finding a reliable moving company is also on our moving to Canada checklist. The Canadian government enables a good legal frame within which each company has to act according to the law and the local regulations. However, this does not mean that all the companies are equally as good. While some may pay special attention to your valuable items, the flexibility of your move time, and the vicinity of your new home to major airports, freeways, etc. some other companies may not be as careful and may cause more damage than good. For this reason when you start planning, considering the company that will be doing the move for you is an essential part of the move itself. You should pay attention to different factors such as: 

• how many years the company has spent in the market
• how many satisfied customers do they have
• how specialized they are in transporting certain types of goods and furniture
• how many good reviews do they have online?
• what the online testimonials have to say about them
• what kind of insurance they can offer for your overall and valuable items

Obtaining Necessary Documentation for Moving

Moving also means dealing with a lot of paperwork. For this reason, you will need to make sure that all your paperwork and documents are in place weeks before the move date. The documents that you should obtain and have on you at all times when moving to Canada include: 

• proof of funds 
• medical exam results 
• passport 
• accommodation proof 
• Canadian immigration visa 
• your birth certificate 
• your police clearance certificate 
• any prescriptions that you may have 
• your driving license 
• adoption records if travelling with adopted children 
• your job offer letter 
• your marriage certificate 
• your work experience letters 
• your job offer letter 
• your work contract 
• your resume 
• your marriage certificates 
• confirmation of permanent residency in Canada 
• your private health insurance card 
• confirmation of payment of your tax forms if moving within Canada 
• your health records if moving from outside of Canada to Canada 
• your address change proof if you have one already 
• your immunization records especially for your children
• list of valuable items you are carrying with you as these will have to be declared at the customs desk 
• in some cases, your bank statements

Understanding Canadian Customs Regulations

Canada is a very well-organized country. This means that they have strict and straightforward regulations for every major aspect of someone’s legal life. These mostly pertain to everyone’s safety, health, and overall well-being. When moving to Canada, you will have to pay a visit to the border services officer and you will have to answer all the questions that they may have. You should also report all the goods that you’re bringing with you, especially:

• Money
• Electronics
• jewelry and similar valuable items
• food items
• seeds etc. 

If asked about your previous travel destinations, we always advise that you answer truthfully as this question relates to your health and the safety of the people you will be in contact with while in Canada.

Packing Essentials

The next major item on our moving to Toronto checklist is packing the essentials. As you start packing your belongings you will see that this can be a mess so for this reason you should be creating a packing timeline and sticking to it. You should also get rid of as many items as you can, including clothes, pieces of furniture, decorations, and much more. This will save you a lot of time and a lot of money, especially in the long run.

Creating a Packing Timeline

Your packing timeline should include details on when to pack and what to pack. What some movers do is start packing months ahead of the move date. As this may seem too early let’s consider why and what you should be packing at each stage of your move.

1. A month or two before the move date you should pack all the seasonal items that you may use. These include seasonal clothes, skis, swimwear, inflatable pool toys, winter jackets etc
2. Several weeks before the move you should start packing all the decorations from your home, all the dishware that you will not be using for a while, and most of your clothes. Consider that you should keep enough clothes for the remaining time in your home country so that you do not go through the boxes once they have been packed
3. A week before the move you should pack everything else. You should only keep essential items such as clothes for a few days, essential dishware for cooking for a single day that you will be washing daily, all your toiletries, and some cleaning supplies as you may want to clean your home before leaving for Canada
4. On the moving day, or the evening before, you should pack everything remaining except the items that you will be carrying with you in your backpack and that you will need during the move itself. Once all of this is done have a final walk through your home and make sure that nothing has been forgotten

Tip: Pack a clearly labeled box with essentials for your first week in Canada. The box should include; clothes for a few days, basic toiletries, medications, phone charger.

Decluttering Your Belongings

As you start packing you will notice that you have more items than you need. This is especially true for clothing. When you start planning your move date, you should also plan to organize a garage sale early enough so that you can get rid of all the unnecessary items that may be a treasure to someone else. An old phone lying around will only cost you to move to your new location. The same phone and so many other items can be useful for somebody else.

Here are examples of the things that you may want to sell at the garage sale:

• your old clothes 
• your old books 
• all the home gym equipment you bought before getting in good shape 
• your old phone and other electronics 
• old comic books 
• decorations and Christmas decorations that have been sitting in your attic for the past five years 
• old magazines 
• some of your furniture 
• some of your tools 
• all other belongings that you may have been waiting to mend

Gathering Packing Supplies

Gathering your packing supplies is also a good idea. What you want to be packing your things into are sturdy cardboard boxes. They should come in no more than three different sizes, except for oversized items, and you want to pack them based on the weight of the things you’re placing in them and their size. The smaller boxes should be used to pack heavier items such as books while lighter items such as pillows and cushions should go in the biggest size boxes. If the boxes are uniform size or several uniform sizes they will be much easier to place on the truck

Labeling Boxes and Keeping an Inventory

Of course, simply placing your belongings in boxes is not enough. What you should do is label all the boxes you have based on their contents and the room that they have been taken from your old house, or labelled by the room that you will be placing them in your new home. This way both loading and unloading the truck will be a breeze and you and your family members will be able to finish it in one to two hours. This way you save time and you save money as most moving companies charge you either per kilometre travelled or per the number of hours that the truck was at your disposal.

Moving Day Preparation

The moving day preparation starts several weeks before the actual move date. During this time you should already have a plan on where exactly you will be moving, you should have set up your moving budget and have made a plan for packing essentials. For move-day preparation, you should also consider the cutoff date for the utilities back home and the first day of service in your new house, at your new address.

For moving day preparation, you should also consider:

• confirming moving details with your moving company
• packing an essentials box
• securing parking and access for the moving truck
• ensuring safety for the pets being transported

Confirming Moving Details with Your Moving Company

Several weeks and then several days before the actual move date, you should confirm the moving details with your moving company. These details should include the size of the truck, the pickup and the drop-off address, and all the details about valuable things that you may be transporting. You should also arrange the exact date and time of your moving.

Packing an Essentials Box

An essentials box is simply a box with all the essential items that you will need right before the move, during the move, and right after the move is finished. Here you should pack all the medications that you take, a switch of clothes, your basic toiletries, and some electronics that you may need during the voyage itself. These may include:

• your GPS-enabled cell phone
• a power bank
• jewelry items which you may want to keep on yourself at all times 
• other essentials that you simply cannot live without

Tip: We also recommend taking some food and water for you for the trip and making a schedule on when to take your medication.

Securing Parking and Access for the Moving Truck

In some cases and in some areas you will need to secure parking and access for the moving truck. Although it may seem unnecessary, these trucks can be really big, and arriving at your destination at a time or on a date when there is high traffic, especially if you plan to live in the downtown area, can be a hassle that is difficult to overcome.

• Check with local authorities. If you can, make sure you show up at the destination place to make sure the parking place is still free.
• Secure the parking spot for the moving truck.

Ensuring Pets are Safely Transported

If you’re moving with your pets, make sure that they’re transported safely. There are special transporters for cats dogs and other pets that you may have. Make sure that they do not eat or drink too much water during the moving day as this may cause significant delays as they will want to use the loo. You may also discuss giving them some calming medicine before the trip with your vet. 

Arrival in Toronto

Even if you had no previous chance to come to Toronto and set up the basic services, find a new house, get a health card, etc. a scan on the checklist will help you with all of these. The thing is that there are certain things that you can only do after the moving day and after you are already in Toronto. For this reason, you should always have enough money to last you for a few months upon your arrival in Canada.

Upon arriving in Toronto you should: 

• inspect your new home, if you have found one already
• set up utilities and services and make sure that the old ones in your old home are disconnected
• register for healthcare card
• register for a driver’s license (make sure to understand that you cannot have a driver’s license and a photo ID card at the same time in Canada)
• and explore your new neighbourhood in search of the best gym in Toronto, the best private medical clinic, the best veterinarian practice, and more

Inspecting Your New Home

A home inspection before moving in is a normal part of the moving experience in Canada. For this reason, you should consider hiring a home inspector. They should inspect the HVAC unit, insulation, mold detection, and more.

Setting Up Utilities and Services

Utilities and services and their setup are also an integral part of the move. You will need to open for essential utilities:

• electricity connection 
• water connection
• natural gas

Optional if you will opt for other services such as:

• Internet connection 
• phone connection 
• cable connection 

Registering for Health Care and Driver’s License

Once in Toronto you will also need to register for your health care card. You can do this only if you have proof of Canadian citizenship or immigration status. You will also need proof of residency in Ontario and proof of your identity. You can do this at the nearest Ontario health insurance program office. These offices are usually founded by OntarioServices. This is the same place where you can get your driver’s license.

Exploring Your New Neighborhood

Toronto neighbourhoods are multicultural neighbourhoods. As soon as you move there you may want to start exploring the food scenery, the exotic restaurants nearby, the gyms, private medical clinics, schools, parks, and other places where you can do sports, historical landmarks, and more. You should also consider checking how far your new workplace will be.

Settling In

Another important part of our moving checklist is settling in. Once your new house is equipped you should focus on finding the:

• a new school for your children 
• doing the final walk around the neighbourhoods to meet with your new neighbours
• getting the health card ready
• getting the bank statements in place 
• Ensuring that the new place you will be living in offers plenty of work opportunities and amenities for a comfortable life

Unpacking and Organizing Your Belongings

Once you settle in your new home, you should unpack and organize all your belongings. It was for this reason that you should have labelled all your boxes before the move date. Now you should take all the boxes to their dedicated rooms and start slowly unpacking.

Tip: We recommend unpacking essentials first and leaving the rest, such as clothes and decorations, for later days.

Connecting with Your New Community

• Paying a short visit to your new neighbours is an investment in the long run.
• Ask them about any local events, farmer’s markets, and places where people like to hang out. Never forget the highest-ranked bar in the area may not be the most popular among locals.

Updating Your Address and Subscriptions

• Update your subscriptions back at home to your new address.
• Inform your friends and offices that you may want to contact you about your new address as well. Make sure to dedicate an entire afternoon to this.

Reviewing Your Moving Experience for Future Reference

Once your moving experience is done you may want to reflect on that for future reference. Think about all the issues that you have encountered during the movie itself. Make sure to take a critical look at the company that transported your belongings. If you moved into a car, think about the money that you have saved on airplane tickets. Does it pay off? If you had to do this thing over again, how different would it be?

Final Thoughts

Moving is a stressful period but it doesn’t have to ruin months of your life. In our handy guide on how to move to Toronto, you can see all the tips and tricks that we have that should help turn this stressful period into an enjoyable experience. Use our checklist as a reference point for all your future moves as well.