The time is almost here! My fiancé and I will be moving to Edmonton Alberta in just over two week! In the meantime, we are busy gathering our things and preparing for the big move.
The main reason why we are moving is because I want to finish my schooling in Alberta as they appear to have a lower cost of living and a large range of opportunities. Ontario is just not practical anymore. I am very fortunate that my fiancé is on board with this new chapter. Luckily, he is in a field that is glorified, which is welding. This is a large factor in him agreeing to move.
With that in mind, there are so many things that need to be organized. As this is our first time moving to a complete different location, I feel like we are always missing something. To help keep ourselves organized, I have a list of all of our needs that need to be addressed to make our move as smooth as possible.
The drive from Ontario to Alberta will take three days, comfortably. We will have to prepare for the drive alone, let alone the move.
As every move have unique factors, I also like to believe that moving to a different area all have similar factors. For instance, my moving journey will be different compared to another person’s moving journey, so take my moving tips in small considerations. With that in mind however, I hope you are able to take some information from this and use it as moving adventures have similarities. If you are thinking about moving to a new province within Canada like us, here are some things to keep in mind!
First of all to start our move specifically, I need to get a practicum set up for my schooling to ensure that our move is practical. Luckily I landed a practicum within my field! With this process, I personally reached out to various agencies that my university would approve to be fit for a practicum, such as being in the social work fiend that is Indigenous based. This process took to a while personally as some agencies were open to have students and other weren’t.
Secondly as I have my practicum in place, my fiancé and I then searched for jobs. As this can take a long process, we also had other things on the go. We faced some barriers as we are in Ontario, looking for jobs in Edmonton Alberta. Luckily we have the power of Zoom and phone calls. My fiancé recently was accepted at a place! All he has to do now is pass a welding test when we get there, which is perfect as he is an experienced welder. I am still undergoing interviewing processes and more job searching.
Additionally, we need a place to stay. To find a place, we booked many viewings as we are in Ontario. We booked them around the same dates as we planned to fly over for a few days to go to those viewings. When we had up to three viewings, we booked our flights, AirBnB, and a car rental. We even booked more viewings during our time over there to open up our options. We actually ended up finding the perfect place! I personally wasn’t expecting anything as I did not know what to expect. We signed the lease and got the keys before we flew back to Ontario.
Another thing that we have to do is to prepare our vehicles to be road ready. My fiancé’s truck specifically needed a lot of work to be safety-approved as he bought it recently from a seller online. He has been working on it for the past three weeks now! Luckily he passed the safety test! As Ontario is different from Alberta’s car safety tests, we will both have to take our cars for another safety in Alberta. With that noted, the Alberta car safety test appears to be more strict than Ontario’s. For instance, I have noticed that Alberta will not approve a car to be road-read if they have any modifications, such as tinted windows. Once our cars are safety approved in Alberta, we can then register new Alberta plates. With what I have learned through research, they may ask for a three year drivers abstract from Ontario to see our driving record, which is around $50.00 an order. Overall, I have researched that we are given 60 days (three months) to transfer our cars from Ontario plates to Alberta’s. When we transfer our plates, I am hoping to also change my drivers license and health card to Alberta at the same time.
Continuing our list, we need to think about changing over our health coverage as it is a complete different coverage than Ontario. Ontario’s health care insurance plan is OHIP, and Alberta’s health care insurance plan is AHCIP. As they are different, we need to apply for it. Based on my research, this can be done by filling out an application form and going into a registry in Alberta with different types of identification, possibly only two, and proof of residency. Proof of residency can be your lease, bills with your name on then that are sent to your residency in Alberta, and so forth. To my understanding as long if you have a document with your full name and proof of residency within Alberta, it should be accepted, however I am still learning this process, so I may be incorrect. I am unsure right now if we need to work out our new health care insurance plan first before renewing our health card.
Additionally, we will be traveling with a cat. As we have a long road trip ahead, we need to prepare her for the long trip. Right now, I am having her get use to car rides in the moment by driving her around the block a few times during the week. As she is good during car rides, I have done some research and found out that they may not eat or drink as they may feel stressed, so we plan to give her food and water on our stops. Water can be given by a syringe if needed. We will also have to pack cat litter and a bin, a harness, food and water, cat carrier, towels and blankets, and cat toys to keep her occupied in her carrier. When we stop, she will be attached to her harness and will be able to explore with us as we stretch.
With all of this in mind, we were on the search for a utility trailer that fits our budget. Luckily, we found one a couple of weeks ago. As it is a little smaller than what we had hoped, we are going to make it work as the market for utility trailers are high! As there are two of us to pack for, we are both downsizing and only taking the stuff that are reasonable, such as a bed and clothing.
I am also personally under a prescribed drug, so I had connected with my pharmacist about my situation to transfer my prescription to Alberta. I am lucky to be able to get three months’ worth of my prescription, which allows me a good amount of time to look for a doctor, “fingers crossed.” When I find one, I can give them my prescription form, and they connect with a nearby by pharmacist where I can pick it up. I believe I need to show proof of residency when I am on the search for a doctor, which can be my renewed Alberta health card. Speaking of finding a doctor, we will also need to find a dentist as well. Need to keep on checking those teeth!
As there are many things to think about, moving to different locations may have other different things that need to be addressed, especially if you are moving to a different country! Now that’s a different ballgame!
As we face various stressors in this move (and we even haven’t left yet), always remember to be kind to yourself and to loved ones, even when you feel stressed. There will be things that will not go your way, such as my fiancés truck taking longer to fix, the expensive plane ticket we had to pay as we thought we got a deal, and running into scammers when we looked for a utility trailer. Life is full of surprises and curveballs. At times sometimes we need to walk away for a few minutes and breathe rather than reacting upon our emotions.
Think of your big move as an adventure! A new chapter, a fresh start!
Until next time,
Christy
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