Moving from Vancouver to Edmonton can be a wild rollercoaster ride full of ups and downs, but it doesn’t need to be.
This guide will take you from the start of the moving process to the end, with the hopes of saving you money, effort, and hassle.
The Moving Process From Vancouver to Edmonton
How Far is Vancouver from Edmonton?
The distance, when driving, between Vancouver and Edmonton, is about 1,160 kilometres. This equates to a little more than a 12 hour driving time.
This is the total driving time using BC-5 N and AB-16 highways, which is the fastest for most of Northern Alberta.
Moving From Vancouver to Edmonton Average Cost
Moving from Vancouver to Edmonton costs $5,750-$9,750+ on average, from start to finish. the biggest factor that will affect this price is finding a credible moving company to help.
How much your move will cost will depend on a wide variety of factors. Do you need a hand with packing all of your things up? Are there any complications to your access point, such as an elevator that makes for some awkward moving?
Factors such as these need to be evaluated in your current home in Vancouver, as well as where you’re moving into in Edmonton in order to give an accurate quote.
Average Cost to Move a Studio
If you live in a studio, the move will cost roughly $5,750-$6,250.
Average Cost to Move a 2 Bedroom
If you live in a 2 bedroom home, you can expect this move to cost $7,250-$8,250.
Average Cost to Move a 4 Bedroom
And lastly, a 4 bedroom home will cost $9,000-$9,750+ on average.
I Just Got an Estimate for $3k! Why So Much?
If you’ve already gotten quotes from a bunch of companies, you’ve probably gotten a quote or two that “stands out”. Moving a 2 bedroom apartment from Vancouver to Edmonton, and you get a quote for $3,000 for example.
Unfortunately, this is one of the most infamous moving scams in the industry. At first glance, these guys seem like the obvious choice, cause of the insanely discounted rate they’re offering.
But once your moving day arrives, you may be in for a surprise. That quote they gave you was actually only based on 1,000 pounds of cargo.
If you have more than 1,000 pounds worth of stuff, then as you can probably guess, there are additional charges.
Just to put into perspective for you, each room in your home will be roughly 1,000 pounds worth of stuff. The average 2 bedroom (worth of stuff) weighs about 4,000 pounds.
It is not difficult for you to imagine how that $3,000 quote quickly skyrockets to $12,000, or even more.
When we provide these rough estimates above, we are trying to give a quote that covers all costs from Vancouver all the way to Edmonton, for roughly how much stuff you’ll have.
Is Vancouver or Edmonton a Better Place to Live?
Living Costs Compared
This is an area of life that Edmonton is technically the winner in, but at the same time a loser.
According to Numbeo, Edmonton’s cost of living is significantly cheaper than Vancouver. However, people also make, on average, much less in Edmonton than they do in Vancouver.
So, Vancouver’s purchasing power is just marginally higher than Edmonton’s.
The biggest difference is that Vancouver’s rental market is nearly double that of Edmonton’s.
Crime Rates
With the exception of drug crimes, Vancouver’s crime rate is significantly lower than Edmonton’s. However, the statistics are not enough to completely deter anyone from moving to Edmonton, since Vancouver is just about ~10% safer than Edmonton.
What we recommend you do is look into crime rates of the specific neighbourhood that you are planning on moving into, since that is generally more important than the crime rate of the entire city that you’re living in.
Public Transportation
Vancouver’s public transit system has been rated higher consistently than Edmonton’s.
With nearly 453 million boardings in 2019, Vancouver’s “TransLink” Skytrain is second to none. It is made up of 3 lines, which have a total of 79.6km of Skytrain rail. There are 53 stations all over the Lower Mainland.
Although Edmonton’s transit system will help you get from point A to point B, it is lacking behind Vancouver’s. It consists of 191 buses, and 2 “LRT’s”, which stands for light rail transit.
Weather
Because Vancouver and Edmonton each have their own pros and cons to their climates, you will need to take this information for what it’s worth.
Some people will prefer Vancouver’s climate, and some will prefer Edmonton’s.
In Vancouver, I’m sure you’ve gotten used to piles and piles of rain, especially throughout the winter months. But through those winter months, it rarely even dips below freezing temperatures.
This is the reason that Vancouver rarely gets significant snowfall. Generally speaking, the temperatures don’t allow for snow to continually come pouring down.
If you’re moving from Vancouver to Edmonton, you should be prepared for a considerable increase in snowfall, especially throughout the winter months.
Although you’ll have to put up with less rain, it will come down in the form of snow, which can make driving and other tasks more difficult and annoying.
Your winters will also be getting a whole lot colder. Edmonton often sees average lows of negative mid-teens in the winter months, especially November-January.
Some Neighbourhoods to Consider Living in Edmonton
Here are some neighbourhoods that you should consider making your new home in Edmonton, according to rentals.ca.
Strathcona
Strathcona has been voted the top neighbourhood in Edmonton several times due to its historic significance, and lively vibe. It features tons of fantastic restaurants serving a wide variety of food. It also has a lot of lively clubs and bars, which will serve useful hopefully soon (2020!). The average rent for a 1 bedroom apartment in Strathcona currently sits at just over $1,000 per month.
Crestwood
This is another fantastic neighbourhood that is located right along the North Saskatchewan River and is nestled into the MacKinnon Ravine Park. Crestwood is a great place to raise a family, with several great schools and smaller restaurants.
Crestwood is an above average income neighbourhood, with an average rental rate of about $1,000/month.
Downtown
If you are currently living in Downtown Vancouver, then transitioning to Downtown Edmonton may be the best course of action moving forward. Similar to Vancouver, it is a lot of 1 and 2 bedroom apartments, so not necessarily the ideal place to raise a family.
However, for young professionals, downtown lifestyle can be very attractive. A one bedroom apartment in Downtown Edmonton currently rents for an average of about $1,195/month.
Selling Your Home For Top Dollar
Now that you’re moving away from BC, you’re probably going to be trying to sell your home. Working with a realtor is one of the best ways that you can get as much for your home as possible. We recommend working with Josh KepKay. You can contact him at (604) 313-9805.
He can help you with the sale of your apartment or house located in Vancouver and surrounding area. Get in touch with him today for assistance.
Getting Employed in Edmonton, Before Getting There
With the rapidly changing technology of the 21st century, there are opportunities that there have never been before. Getting employed in Edmonton can be done from the start of the process to finish from the comfort of your home (in many cases).
City of Edmonton Jobs
There are tons of city jobs available in Edmonton. If you’d like to do some further research into these, you can check out what is currently available using this website. This is a great opportunity for those that are not in a specialized industry, and are just looking for a job to pay the bills.
Indeed
If you’re on the job hunt, then Indeed is a site that you absolutely need to check out. The largest of all job sites, Indeed, has more than 7,700 jobs currently (Nov 2020) available on their jobs database.
You can filter through the listings by salary, whether or not it is remote, industry, language, and other filters.
Word of Mouth
Word of mouth is a very powerful way to find potential job opportunities, especially if you are in a specialized field.
Asking people at your current place of work about potential connections or job opportunities they have in Edmonton is a fantastic start, and you never know what doors that could open for you.
Or if you have a strong LinkedIn network, make a quick post letting everyone know you’re moving from Vancouver to Edmonton and are seeking new opportunities in Edmonton. It doesn’t have to be difficult!
Vancouver to Edmonton Moving Checklist
Before booking any movers, you need to figure out an appropriate “moving budget”. We recommend going over our pricing section (we went over it earlier on in this article), in order to figure out roughly what your costs should be from Vancouver to Edmonton.
Now that you’ve set your budget, call around to as many movers as possible—((778) 885-4170) to see if any movers can work within your budget. Again, make sure that these are reputable movers or you could fall victim to the scam we talked about earlier.
If you’re not able to find a mover who can work within your budget, there are a few options. Moving by yourself, using a U-Haul or portable moving container could be an alternative for you. Keep in mind that you will have much more work and stress involved in these options, but you gotta do what you gotta do!
Line up your housing situation far in advance of moving to Edmonton. If you are moving over the winter months, or have a family, then this is especially important. You would not want to be stranded looking for a place to stay during the winter months of Edmonton.
If you need assistance buying a property in Edmonton, make sure that you reach out to Norm Cholak, who is heavily connected in the city of Edmonton and can help you find the home of your dreams! You can reach her at (780) 991-1313.
Figure out your school situation before you go to Edmonton. Notify your current schools of your kids’ upcoming move, and look into and contact the schools that your kids will be attending in Edmonton. Here is a database of public schools in Edmonton.
Alternatively, here is a great resource for researching the best private schools in Edmonton. Obviously, which school you choose to send your kids is going to depend almost entirely on what neighbourhood you are moving into.
Use this Government of Canada website for your guide to changing your moving address for most of your required address changes. Remember that this is only the beginning, and you will likely need to change your address in other spots, but this is a good start. For example, you will also need to change your address for many of your financial products.
Talk to the people in Vancouver that mean a lot to you, and ensure that you have enough time to visit all of them before you go start your new life in Edmonton!
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