Victoria Living Guide: Moving Tips

So, You’re Starting to Think About Moving

Maybe you are looking for more space or a change of location. Perhaps that new job requires that you move to a new city, or you’re ready to leave the rental market behind to own your property for the first time. Maybe you are thinking about how an investment property could help narrow the gap between where you are now financially and where you want to be. The experts at Hendra have the moving tips to make that special day go smoothly.

No matter what your goals are, this is not an easy process. Moving is nobody’s favourite: the nitty-gritty logistics of getting your possessions from point A to point B can be stressful and time consuming. However, before you start filling boxes and calling the movers, you will be faced with a lot of important and challenging decisions. These are decisions that can impact your overall happiness and well being, both personally and for your family. Can you handle a long commute or being house-poor for the perfect home or location? Are you country or city people? Where do you want to be in five years?

Moving isn’t just about boxes, vans, and a couple burly men to help with the heavy lifting. By engaging in this process, you will likely also confront your own values, goals, and desires. Hendra Moving is here to help you in this process. Here are a few important things to consider before you make that big decision:

1. Know Your Goals

Moving can be a life changing experience. Where you live will shape your lifestyle, professional opportunities, and the growth of your family. Understanding where you are at and where you want to get to is essential to finding the perfect fit for your move.

The questions can be endless. Are your goals personal, professional, or family orientated? Do you want to rent, own, or invest? How important is location? How long do you expect to live in the new place? What kind of changes do you anticipate during this time? Having a clear picture of the goals that you want your move to help you achieve is essential for determining the right city, community, and type of housing for you and your family to meet those goals.

Moreover, this process can help you determine which goals are needs and which are only wants. Can you give up space for location? Would you buy a condo for the amenities of downtown living, even if it means a much smaller living space? Do the lower housing prices in Langford outweigh the time and hassle of commuting everyday?

You should also consider if you are willing and able to renovate, or if you need to find a spot that is move-in ready. While the old fixer-upper may seem more affordable, the ongoing, additional costs are not fixed; so, you will need to make sure that your budget allows for the unexpected costs and challenges that go with renovations. These do-it-yourself projects will be extremely exciting and fulfilling for some but stressful for others. Knowing which side you fall on will help to determine what kind of place to look for.

2. Think Through Career Planning

Victoria is a stunning city with endless natural beauty to explore. However, it can also be a challenging place to find work and housing, depending on your career and housing needs. So, you will need to consider if your goals are attainable in the city. If they aren’t, do you have an alternative plan or transferable skills to transition into a more hirable profession?

3. Understand Your Budget

Moving isn’t cheap. Understanding your budget is essential to being prepared for the upfront costs of moving and for determining what price, size, and type of place that you can afford. Figuring out your budget can help you determine a number of unknowns when looking to move: will you need to rent or can you look to own your property? Will you need to look for a bachelor pad, a condo, or a house? Can you afford to live downtown or is a suburb outside of the city a better fit?

While most everyone will have specific ideas about their ideal home and its features, determining your budget will help to identify if these goals are attainable and can help start the process of narrowing your wishlist to the essentials of what you can afford.

4. Do a GAP Analysis

While hiring a financial advisor might be beneficial, especially if you are thinking of home ownership, it is also an additional expense. A simpler way to figure out what you can afford is to perform a GAP analysis. A GAP analysis can help you to determine where you are at financially and how you can get to where you want to be.

A quick Google search can easily find hundreds of great templates, but making your own is especially simple if you have online banking. Start by determining how much money you have coming in each month and then compare it to your monthly expenses. You can track this daily with each purchase and paycheck, or use your online banking records to review several months of income and expenses.

The gap between your income and expenses will help to determine what you can afford right now. If this number is lower than what you’ll need to afford the housing goals that you’ve set, then you can determine what you will need to get there. Whether that involves increasing your income, decreasing your expenses, or both, you will have a clear picture of what you have and what you need to close the gap between your dreams and reality.

5. Find the Professionals You’ll Need

While moving is expensive, it is also stressful. Part of this stress comes from everything that you will need to know but likely aren’t familiar with. From property taxes to the best neighbourhoods, mortgages to movers, hiring the right professionals will help you make sure that you know what you don’t know.

To put it simply, don’t try to know everything. Find one or two local moving professionals who can know what you don’t for you. Whether that is finding a mortgage broker to ensure that you get the best rate on that new home or finding a real estate agent who can connect your goals to the right property, the cost of the right professional can cover the hidden costs of investing in the wrong property for you and your family.

This is especially true when it comes to finding the right mover. While it may seem more practical to get friends and family to help you do it yourself, the right movers can help reduce the stress of moving. They will take on the heavy and awkward assignments, navigating furniture through narrow doorways while preventing damage to the property and your possessions. From avoiding injury and damage to reducing stress and saving time, the Hendra Moving team, with an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau, is Victoria’s local moving expert.

So, You’ve Decided You’re Moving

You’ve found that perfect house, or maybe just the next place you’ll live. It hopefully fits your budget and meets the needs of you and your family. You’ve crossed the T’s and dotted I’s, and now it’s just a matter of time. Maybe you’re off to a new city, starting a new job, or buying your first home. No matter why you are moving, this is a very exciting, but also hectic, time.

Yes, there is still so much to do before you get to start making that new place feel like home. Moving is never easy, but the process doesn’t have to be painful. Here at Hendra Moving, our team of moving professionals have the knowledge and experience to make sure your move goes smoothly. From handling your heaviest furniture to navigating those tight corners, the professional movers at Hendra can minimize the hassle of moving so you can focus on settling into the new place.

Even if you, your family, and your friends choose to move yourselves, the Hendra team is here to help with some inside industry information to make your life easier. Find out how to be ready for the big day, while keeping down costs and avoiding moving headaches.

6. Book Your Movers Six Weeks in Advance

Yes, there are plenty of moving companies in Victoria, but they aren’t all created equal. And, of course, there is your good friend with the truck who can deadlift 300 lbs. But what happens if your friend throws out his back lifting the couch or is in an accident on the way to your new place? What if that private mover damages the walls or drops the big screen TV?

All of Hendra’s movers, for example, are covered by WorkSafeBC and have an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau. In case of injury, Hendra has you covered, and our sterling reputation gives you the peace of mind that your family’s prized possessions won’t arrive at your new home in pieces.

7. Make a Four-to-Six Week Plan

Planning and preparation are not everyone’s strong suits. Personally, I am comfortable without a definite plan and prefer to handle problems as they arise. My partner, on the other hand, likes to make plans and lists. After our last move, who do you think had everything ready to go and who is still looking for those iTunes gift cards?

Do yourself the favour and make a four-to-six week plan. You can use a checklist or schedule tasks into an online calendar that can give you reminders if you missed a step along the way. Change your mailing address for important accounts — like your banking and bills — and get Canada Post to forward your mail to your new address. The less work you leave yourself for the day of the move, the less painful the experience of moving will be.

8. Remember That Organization Is Everything

Making sure that your packing is well-organized will make both the move itself and unpacking in your new place easier for everyone. Remember to label everything. That includes what room the box is from and going to, as well as what is in the box. Colour coding your boxes — use stickers or coloured markers — is a fast, simple way to ensure that each box goes to the right place.

Don’t forget to mark off the boxes that are heavy or fragile so that there is no damage to you, the movers, or the items in the box. Take pictures of how you have your electronics set up and label the cables. When it comes time to put that video game system or computer back together, you’ll be happy that you did.

Also, keep all your important documents — like passports, birth certificates, unpaid bills, and tax returns — together in one file that you keep with you. Hold onto anything that you absolutely could not live without. While these often turn up, don’t take any chances with your personal information. Have a separate kit prepared of essential items — a toothbrush, deodorant, and a clean change of clothes — for your first couple of nights while you unpack and settle into your new space.

9. Have the Right Tools for the Job

Strong tape, coloured markers, box cutters, and labels are essential. Boxes are obvious necessities, but do you have the right box for the particular job? You can buy boxes from the major moving companies, or you can get free ones from many businesses, especially grocery and liquor stores. If you are packing a specialty item, like a bike or records, go to a record or bike shop to get the kind of box that they use.

Make sure that the boxes you get are sturdy and won’t collapse, or use tape to give them some extra reinforcement. Having a good multi-tool or adjustable head screwdriver on hand will help you take apart bed frames, furniture, or sports equipment.

10. Reduce Moving Cost and Waste

Instead of calling the junk removal truck to take what you no longer need to the landfill, donate gently used furniture, household items, clothing, sports equipment, and other items to a local charity. Many donation thrift shops, like the Salvation Army, and nonprofits, like Big Brothers Big Sisters, will pick up items. Value Village, among most other thrift shops, has donation drop-off centres.

Re-use what you can. Most businesses are happy to give out free boxes. While bubble wrap and Styrofoam peanuts can be great for preventing too much movement and protecting fragile items, they aren’t great for the environment. Minimize the waste from your move by using clothes, old egg cartons, or the weekly newspaper to stuff boxes.

Moving in Victoria: Weather and Climate

Victoria is a great place for those looking for a temperate climate in our fair province. With over two thousand hours of sunshine per year, the city has a lot to offer no matter what the season.

The Hendra Moving Team is here to provide you with information on the season’s greetings in Victoria, and we’re happy to give helpful tips you should know when hiring a company, be it spring, summer, fall, or winter.

Floral Springs and Patio Summers

A Victorian spring greets its denizens like few cities. With more than just the greenery to emerge once the frosted hand of winter pulls back, a springtime here gives you pink and purple too. Expect streets of cherry blossoms to turn deep purple once summer rolls around. And for good measure, keep that bike out of storage with an average rainfall of 850 mm — that’s 250 mm less than Vancouver.

It’s also a city prepared for summer with seaside attractions that will draw out those sunny days. With a seemingly endless summer that keeps the sun out of the clouds eight months of the year, you can look forward to getting that Canadian tan you’ve always wanted. Whether this means afternoons at Thetis Lake or tepid evenings in one of Downtown Victoria’s many patios, you’re guaranteed to get the season’s full potential.

Spring and Summer Moving Tips

Get an estimate sooner rather than later. Peak season tends to start as soon as February and can last until Labour Day.

Timing is important. The cost of moving can vary depending on what time of year it is. Many moving companies shift their prices during the spring and summer to compete with the amount of demand they receive.

Finish the move before the weekend starts. Sure, it might work with your job schedule to move on a Saturday, but hiring a company on a Monday can save you money if their pricing model benefits the slower weekdays — Monday through Wednesday. There’s no substitute for getting the stress of moving out of your system before your time off.

Picturesque Falls and Peaceful Winters

The golden season has much in store for those who enjoy the outdoors. For those who lace up their boots and hike out into nature’s beauty, you’ll find auburn valleys of maple and Garry oak. And in October, take trips to the pumpkin patch with the family. All this without shifting the dial on your heater, keeping your house cozy when the weather turns lousy.

Let’s face it, Canadian winters have a bad rap. Specifically when it comes to the headache of shoveling your car out of the snow. But, with little-to-no snowfall every year, the good people of Victoria rarely face the cold like their countrymen. Victoria is the place for a stress-free winter with a three month lifespan of silent nights. Or if you’re longing for the frozen ponds of Manitoba, hit the ice with the family at the Fairmont’s exclusive rink.

Fall and Winter Moving Tips

Check the weather and be prepared to wrap items that might be damaged by the rain if the forecast looks foul.

Keep your jackets and scarves handy in a box you can easily access for the days that put a nip in the air.

Turn those heaters off. There’s no point in firing up the furnace if the warm air is going to be leaking from your open doors all day.

Make sure to cover your floors so you can keep cleaning to a minimum. Old towels, tattered blankets, and ugly carpets work great for keeping the dirt out of your house.

Stay vigilant on icy roads. Even Victoria can hazard black ice on particularly cold mornings. When it comes to driving your precious items, remember that slow and steady wins the race.

Have a time frame in mind and know when sundown is. Unpacking in the cold is bad enough; don’t let yourself get caught out in the dark too.

Treat yourself. Have your preferred hot beverage waiting for you when that final piece of furniture gets unpacked.

Your Next Step

While these suggestions only cover a part of what goes into a move, we hope that this makes the challenge of moving a little simpler. Ultimately, there is no substitute for experience. No matter what season it is, Hendra Moving is here for you. We know you want to spend less time worrying about moving and more time enjoying the moderate climate of this wonderful city. Book an estimate today and become one step closer to making your transition as easy as it can be.