You've done your pre-move preparations, you have your VISA, and you're hyped to come down. Don't bother packaging stuff yourself, the movers will just unpack it and repack it (if you want the stuff insured). Get a couple of estimates on how much it'll cost to move your stuff, and be aware that moving during the summer tends to cost more. Or if the company is taking care of it, then who cares. Moving Tips and Suggestions These tips have been provided by Sami Boulos from CISCO who once maintained a Moving From Canada to California FAQ. Ask for everything in writing, including: Price guarantee No storage costs, or storage costs for free No move from Canada without your writte permission No delivery to California before a certain date Your company may give you the option of taking cash and arranging your entire move yourself. If you choose this option, be aware that: You will not get the cash until in the US and most likely in at least two paychecks. You will be taxed on this cash - account for about 40-50% tax rate. You can claim moving expenses. Keep all your receipts, including airline tickets and rental car receipts. See the relevant US and Canadian tax guides for details. Do NOT call LDM United in California - a number people have had bad experiences with this company, which is no longer Cisco's recommended mover. In Ottawa, a number of people have been lowballed by Abbotsford United. North American (in alliance with D'Arcy Moving) have been quite professional and efficient. They also offer sattelite tracking, where you can go to a web page and pinpoint the location of your stuff. People have used AMJ Campbell in Ottawa and Alexander's Moving in California, with reasonably good results. AMJ did an excellent job packing - none of the goods were damaged. Both AMJ and Alexander's are Atlas movers. Cisco deals with Alexander's Moving. Some advantages in using Alexander's (or whatever the company recommends) as opposed to going with one mover from Ottawa to California are: Bill is not due COD with your furniture. You will usually have about a month to pay up. Positive or negative feedback to Cisco may get you better results. The previous mover, LDM United, was removed from dealing with Cisco as a result of a number of complaints. If your goods are more than 1 year old, you will not pay US customs or duties. Some hints for dealing with moving companies are: Whatever you do and whatever you are told, get it in writing. In filling an invoice, leave no parts with dollar amounts empty. If a part of a form is not applicable, mark it out. Get copies of whatever the mover does not give you. In Canada, get estimates from more than two movers. Try to stick with a van line for your local and US mover (these may be different). This will cost you nothing and will allow you to see which mover is lowballing you with their weight estimations. Avoid the lowballers, since you will be later unpleasantly surprised with higher than expected costs. Two of us have been lowballed by Abbotsford United in Ottawa. I was also not impressed with Abbotsford's sloppy estimate, which not only was about 1000 lb. off, but also neglected costs included by the other two movers. A major part of your moving cost is the weight of your goods. If possible, be present at the weighings of the truck on which your packed goods will be put. The truck will be weighed before and after the goods are placed. Make sure the truck is full of fuel and has all the moving implements, boxes, etc. when it is weighed empty. Get copies of the weighings. The mover may try to dissuade you form attending, but insist on it - playing with the weight is one of their biggest opportunities to rip you off. Pack as much as possible (e.g. books and other non breakables) yourself. Try to get free boxes from your mover - some will provide free used boxes. Otherwise, the mover will show up the day of the move with *new* boxes and charge you for the boxes and the packing costs. You are responsible for damage to anything within boxes you pack. Don't pack any electronics since the mover will want to see them working. My mover even had an external company come and "test" (basically turn on/off!) my electronics. If your mover does not tell you of this additional charge, protest and refuse to pay for it. On the invoice you sign, make sure any areas for charges are crossed out. Best situation is to have goods moved onto a truck and immediately shipped to your address in California i.e. it is best to avoid any unnecessary movement of your goods to/from the moving truck. This is not always possible, thus you will have to get your goods moved onto a truck and from the truck, to storage, and then from storage to another truck which will travel to your address in California. Some movers will give you one or two months free storage in Canada. Avoid, at all costs, storage of your goods in California - it is extremely expensive. If your goods need to be stored, it is best to have your goods packed in Canada, stored there until you find a place to live in California, and then have them shipped directly from the warehouse in Canada to your residence in California. Do not give your Canadian mover your visa information or the US Customs form until you have found a place to live in. Some have had the mover prematurely move their goods, which had to be stored in California. Once you agree with your mover on a delivery spread (i.e. goods will appear in California within a 5-10 day period), get this in writing and insist that the goods are not to be delivered before this date. Once this happens, fill out the customs form and fax it and a copy of your visa to the mover. Theoretically, your goods cannot cross the border without this documentation. Personal note: I had instructed AMJ Campbell, in writing, that they not send out my goods from Ottawa before April 10. They sent them out March 30. Because I had a place to live and had all in writing, my goods were delivered directly to apartment and at a time convenient to me (i.e after work). I was not responsible for overtime costs and had this ibn writing. Otherwise, my experience with AMJ was positive - no goods were damaged. My experience with Alexander's Moving in California has been excellent. Their customer rep, Julie Pergamit, has been responsive, and their bill contained no surprises. Number for Alexander's Moving is (800) 654-6556. Tips from Readers Gleb Esman writes: The last thing I want to let everyone know, is a travel agency in Kanata (Ottawa, Ontario): CS Travel and Associates 1-800-737-7820   613-271-8646   613-271-8654 These people are *absolutely* the best professionals in their business i ever met. Additionally they do have access to consolidators and other discount ticket arrangements, which are not available to many agents in USA. Talk to Carolyne or Nathalie, tell them, Gleb Esman recommended them. I consider using them for all my travel needs in USA too. Jim Nakashima writes: I am currently moving from Canada to the US and I just wanted to give you some updated information with regards to importing a vehicle. 1) get a letter from the american division of your car manufacturer 2) You no longer need an approval letter from the DOT, you can proceed directly to customs where customs will need the letter you got in (1) 3) If you are getting the car shipped, a DOT form HS-7 may have to be filled out, eligibility is in Box 2B 4) Contact the EPA, you need to fill out a form 3520-1 Dan Fraser has written an extremely detailed account on how he saved 50% on moving his stuff. Click here to check it out. Moving Your Car From Sami Boulos cont'd: You will need at least 2 weeks to do the paperwork in Canada for this as a comfortable margin, although it can be done in about 2 days. *** ALWAYS KEEP YOUR CAR OWNERSHIP PAPERS WITH YOU *** Call up US D.O.T. for your car manufacturer's number. Call up your car manufacturer and ask for a certification letter. Fax the certification letter and your ownership paper (i.e., car registration) to D.O.T. They will send or fax you the certification. Include this letter with your moving papers (i.e., give it to your movers). If you are shipping your car with your goods, make sure your estimate includes the weight of the car. Alternatively, you may want to drive it to California (about 4-5 days of driving). When you take your papers to the DMV in California, you need the stamped DOT letter, Canadian registration and a smog test certificate. The cost to register the car is $300+2% of the value of the car + $processing charge which was $530 for a 95 Honda Civic. Make sure you call first to make an appointment to register the car! Ammendment From Me (Tariq): I never faxed anything to D.O.T, all I did is give the EPA letter from Honda to the movers, and they took care of it (which is what my other friends who have come here did). I imagine the movers made the arrangements. My 1993 Honda Prelude costed about $730 to register, and $190 renewal in 1999. Ticket and Rental Air Fare Buy a 2-way ticket to San Francisco. It will most likely cost you about $150 less than one to San Jose. A 2-way will save you about $300 over a 1-way. It may be best to have the return (unused) flight LESS than 1 month from the departure date. This puts the ticket into a lower fare classification, at least according to Air Canada. If possible, try to use a Canadian airline to at least ensure you are fed during the long flight to San Francisco. San Francisco airport is less than an hour's drive from San Jose. Car Rental You may want to use your company's preferred rental car company to book a car. This may give you unlimited mileage and allow you to return the rental car at any outlet rather than just the airport. You may be better off reserving the car from Canada to take advantage of any tourist specials. Get the less expensive weekly or monthly rate. Expect to pay $140-175/wk for a small sedan like a Contour, Malibu, etc... Check the daily rate if you are to return the car on a non-weekly multiple. It will usually be the maximum possible. Say Goodbye Really not much else to do at this point. Maybe leave some cash in your Canadian bank to hold your car payments for awhile. I would suggest starting to do research on where you're going to live which is covered later, but if you can narrow down some apartments before you even come down to the States, you'll save yourself a lot of time. So pack your bags, and say good bye to everyone. Take one last feel at how hot and humid it is (if it's summer), or stand outside during the frigid cold, because that's the last you'll be seeing that for a long long while (if you're going to California).