Any suggestions on the best way to move my daughter’s belongings to the school? Ship them or bring extra suitcases? Any Americans on here with tips and/or suggestions?
How much stuff is she planning on bringing? Will she be living in rez or an off campus apartment?
I would consider buying most larger items in Montreal. Only plan on clothes to take with and if there other items that she can’t live without ship them after move in.
@TomSrOfBostonShe’ll live the first year in Rez. I’m thinking she can buy winter coat and stuff at a thrift store in Montreal. She’s got boys and shoes and sweaters and jeans. I was thinking we would pay the airline’s fee for extra suitcases. My husband thinks it would be easier to pack boxes and ship stuff.
@livinginLA - thanks. Are you a Los Angeles kid going to school at McGill?
Lol. My spell correct changed “boots” to “boys”. She’ll need bigger suitcases!
No just trying to think on the practical side.
@livinginLA - I was thinking your screen name indicates you’re from here in Los Angeles.
I would have you daughter take a couple of suitcases with her and ship the rest to arrive after she has settled into her room. What rez will she be living in?
@TomSrOfBoston - thanks for the advice. We don’t know what rez she’ll be in yet. They hold their lottery a little later this year than usual.
For I believe $35 for an extra suitcase, think you’re much better off taking what you can with you on the plane. Shipping internationally is expensive, I routinely spend $20+ dollars to send a very small box to Montreal. Look up the maximum size measurements for a checked bag, buy a box at a UPS or shipping store as close to that as possible, and pack it full using space bags, etc., keeping mind of weight limitations of course. We did that when our daughter moved to Mtl from California and it worked out well.
I’m an int’l parent and have been transporting stuff internationally for 2 kids for years. We flew w kids and each used our checked baggage allowance to haul kid’s stuff. We used storage/moving company to store the kids’ stuff during summer.
Keep in mind that anything that goes into the room in the Fall has to come out again at the end of Spring, so less is more…
I assume she is flying. Might be worth getting a credit card that allows free baggage. Some airlines (e.g. Delta) have really changed their pricing for first class tickets so that it might be worth a first class ticket for 2-3 free bags and then a fee for a 3rd or 4th. If you are flying with her then you could really pile on the luggage. For some international flights in first class, the weight limit increases to 70 lbs per bag.
For Delta from LAX to Montreal there is a $300 premium for first class tickets. If you went with her, you could each take 3 checked bags up to 70 lbs (420 lbs) and you could drink all of the cheap chardonnay you want en route.
@WISdad23 - Thanks. I’ll have to figure out how to find those rates. When I do a quick search for flights on Delta, the increase is more $1,000 from economy to FC. I do think bringing everything with us is the way to go. My husband is also flying so that is three of us with bags that even if we have to pay to check them, should be more cost effective than shipping.
@GMTplus7 - What airlines do you find to have the best flights? I don’t even know any that have any checked bag allowance anymore. However, even if we have to pay for the checked bags, it should be better than shipping.
@ENsMom - Thanks for the tip!
When I wrote the post I searched Delta and the first class differential was much lower. When I searched again, I found what you found, about $1000 more per person. That comes out to over $300/checked bag. I hope her cargo is not that precious. I did find a first class flight on United for $1200 each. Of course, the rices fluctuate. Google Flights is a nice tool for checking the prices.
@WISdad23, I’ll keep checking. Perhaps I’ll get lucky. Thanks!