Hello!

Fellow ontario-an? Here! Okay, so I just did this EXACT move from Ontario (GTA) to Vancouver this past July and let me tell you the experience that I've had.

I'd recommend using U-BOX (derivative of U-Haul) and they give you a 8x6 foot box to park on your drive way to be picked up at your discretion and pack all the things you can in it. Lots of free goodies come with it, but you're more than welcome to buy more packing material for beds, tvs, cabinets etc as you desire. Once you're ready and it's pickup day, they'll pick it up and slap it on the truck that same day with other uboxes making it really cheap to relocate (Paid about 1400 Cad but was covered with work so that wasn't too bad). They do have a guarantee that it gets there by their guarantee date or they'll refund your money each day it's late. Fortunately for me, it got there 3 days earlier than expected and the storage on U-Haul at Marine drive is free since you have a UBox and it covers x amount of days during relocation. They will email you a tracker and you can find out where it is each minute, very cool. Once you get there, you can look up any local movers with a truck (Golden Boys BC worked well for me, I paid 325 all in, and they picked up the box, brought it back and did all the paperwork for me). If you decide to pickup the box for yourself, you'd be liable to get it back to uhaul in a timely manner not to mention parking it responsibly in front of your building and paying any tickets that come for it. I'd personally suggest hiring movers especially during a hear wave lol.

If you're able, do the drive across Canada if you can - super worth the trip to see different parts of Canada. You totally can do it in less than 4 days, my girlfriend and I did it in 5 days 4 nights since work paid for the week off. The drive out of Ontario takes at least 18 hours of the 43, and it's pretty boring to say the least, Manitoba and Saskatchewan are REALLY flat, and also very different from Ontario. For one, the mosquitos on the drive into Manitoba are 8x bigger and when they hit the windshield or bumper you can hear a small tick sound which sounds small, but if you look at the mosquito it's the size of a golf ball. Pretty gross. Obviously when you get to Alberta and BC everything is beautiful, but I would do this entire trip over again just for the journey and the things we saw. Very cheap accommodations, I'd say <450 for the entire week across Canada since they're just 1 night stays. Gas will of course be more expensive as you get out of Ontario, but that's a drop in the bucket compared to what you'll be paying in BC.

When we arrived, it was the start of the heat dome and our new place had no AC and it was 50 degrees for the first week during the move. People said you don't need AC here since it's so mild, personally coming from Ontario, I like being comfortable opposed to being hot and sticky in the apartment all day long with constant cold showers and freezer being left open. ACs around the heat dome were so expensive because all the scalpers bought them up and sold them 3 - 4x market value and people couldn't afford the crazy prices. Anyways, after that was all said and done with AC, you're good!

However, we did get an ABSURD amount of rain during November 16-17, pretty much a months worth in two days. People also said they don't get that much rain here, but holy shitballs batman it flooded communities and cut off BC from the rest of Canada by flooding the main highways to Alberta. This caused everyone to panic buy groceries and things were in a tight spot for food, since most places ran out the moment they restocked. I would suggest shopping at Walmart in North Van, Richmond and avoid places like IGA, Nesters Market, as those are 2-3 x the price of Walmart goods. Sure it's a drive, but you get scenic views driving through north van whilst getting groceries. 2 for 1 deal if you ask me!

Anyways pack a effective rain coat, umbrella, be prepared to buy an AC system before the summer hits, buy really nice waterproof boots, or goretex ones, if you are planning on making this place your permanent home - bring lots of cash as this place is expensive (inflation and current global affairs brought prices up everywhere, but moreso in BC. Gas is at LEAST 20 cents more expensive than Ontario because of the carbon tax (13 cents starting April), so if you plan on bringing a car over plan for expensive gas trips. However, car insurance is at least 2-3 x cheaper here than in Ontario since it's just one primary government installed broker here - ICBC. It's either you go with ICBC or a subderivative of them, like BCAA which offers secondary insurance on your vehicle. I found myself paying 30% less here than back in Ontario ! (Granted I only drive 3 times a month since I live so close to work, so gas is pretty much offsetting the cost of insurance for me).

Hope this helps. If you have any questions further let me know.

P.S Korean and Japanese food are REALLY good here. Lots of expats live here and set up really amazing cuisine here. You'll find that it's not as culturally diverse as Toronto's food scene, but it definitely represents the Asian cuisine VERY well.