We move in a week - what did we forget?

[ai731]

One week from today is the big move from our tiny inner-city 2 bedroom apartment to a big 3 bedroom bungalow on 6 acres in rural south-eastern Ontario.

We've both moved tons of times before, so we're old hands at all the stuff to do with moving (changing address, utilities, etc.), BUT neither of us have ever lived in the 'country' full time. In terms of moving from the city to the homestead, what might we have forgotten to do/buy/find out for country living?

Does anyone who has moved from the city to their homestead recently have wisdom or stories to share?

Thanks!
Jan

[Callieslamb]

write down your experiences. It will be good therapy to go back later and see all you have accomplished and how you have changed?

How far away is the move?

[ai731]

Originally Posted by Callieslamb

write down your experiences. It will be good therapy to go back later and see all you have accomplished and how you have changed?

How far away is the move?

That's a great idea! I've already planned to start a new blog all about our life on the homestead, so the first post(s) can be about the move itself.

We're not moving very far - 130km (80 miles), but we're moving to the next province (i.e. "just over the state line") so there's lots of government bureaucracy to deal with - got to change our driver's licenses, etc.

Thanks!
Jan

[DaleK]

Don't worry about the drivers license, health card first.

Bring light bulbs. Can you still get real light bulbs in Quebec? Don't bring beer, we have better beer in Ontario (4 years of Quebec university to learn that)

Make sure you stop the mailman/lady and tell them who you are, then you won't have to change the mailbox right away. Just going to the post office may or may not be enough. Got a friend who moved in over 20 years ago, still has the previous owners name on the mailbox.

Might want to stop and rub some dust on your vehicles so the glare doesn't blind anybody used to driving the back roads.

I'm sure Ross and Ford Major will drop by with a pie. I'm a bit too far for that, I'll try to eat a pie on your behalf though.

[Jan Sears]

Jan, where specifically in eastern Ont. are you moving to? I lived on my grandfathers farm for awhile outside of Dalkeith. Now I live just outside of Kemptville. Welcome to Ont. I was raised in the eastern townships of Quebec (Danville next door to the mining town of Asbestos). My name is also Jan.

[EDDIE BUCK]

lol, never lived in a city but have moved a few times,an each time to a less populated place if we can find it. Hopefully we have moved the last time. Not many less populated places left to choose from.Next move will probably be Heaven, but thats ok too cause Jesus said "FEW THERE BE THAT FIND IT" Sounds like my kinda place. On the first load make sure all the guns and fishing poles and flashlights oh,the pets an the kids are on that load. That way if anything or anyone of importance is missing, it or they move to the first spot on the second load ect ect.Ok once everyone hits the sack, it might seem too quite to sleep, after hearing cars, trucks, trains ,sirens and gunshots all night, it will take a few nights for your ears to get a goodnights sleep but in just a few nights them ears will start picking up them country nighttime sounds, like unka Bubba's pickup truck and his love for that C&W music, Them bullfrogs croaking by the lake, crickets churping all around the house, skeeters buzzing around the windows less theres a hole in the screen,then they will make themselves at home and last you will probably hear someone out in the woods a hollering WHO, WHO don't be alarmed its just a mother owl teaching her younguns the owl language or one of the younguns telling all the other owls he has finished school and got his diploma. Now if you happen to hear any other word being hollared, Find that flashlight and gun that was on the first load and go out and find out who's hollering that other word. Oh You did get the flashlight batteries and the bullets for that dang gun didn't you? DO I HAVE TO TELL YOU EVERYTHING? Just picking on you a little. I hope you enjoy your new home and the country way of life and in my opinion its the best place I've found on this side of Heaven . LOL Eddie

[ai731]

Originally Posted by DaleK

Don't worry about the drivers license, health card first.

Got it.

Make sure you stop the mailman/lady and tell them who you are, then you won't have to change the mailbox right away. Just going to the post office may or may not be enough. Got a friend who moved in over 20 years ago, still has the previous owners name on the mailbox.

Great idea, thanks! I've already done the official Canada Post Change of Address thing, but trying to speak to the mailman/lady and let them know who we are sounds like very good advice!

I'm sure Ross and Ford Major will drop by with a pie. I'm a bit too far for that, I'll try to eat a pie on your behalf though.

Thank you kindly

Jan

[ai731]

Originally Posted by Jan Sears

Jan, where specifically in eastern Ont. are you moving to? I lived on my grandfathers farm for awhile outside of Dalkeith. Now I live just outside of Kemptville. Welcome to Ont. I was raised in the eastern townships of Quebec (Danville next door to the mining town of Asbestos). My name is also Jan.

We're just south of Maxville, which is about 15 klicks the other side of Alexandria from Dalkeith. We would have loved to find something near Dalkeith to be a little closer to our families in Montreal, but DH fell in love with this place at first sight, and it turned out to be in A1 condition, so we grabbed it.

This will be my second time living in Ontario - I lived in Ottawa for a few years when I was working for Nortel, back duing the tech boom. It's all new for DH, though, he's lived in Quebec all his life.

I'm technically Janice, but I've always used Jan online because it's faster to type

Jan

[Cygnet]

How far are you from the local gas station?

I make a habit of never letting the vehicles get below a third of a tank. That way if I forget to top off on the way home from work, I'll have enough gas to get all the way home and then back to the gas station. Learned that one after I had a spacey moment, and got home, and then drove twenty miles BACK to the gas station the next morning with the idiot light for the gas tank on the whole way.

If you're driving on dirt roads, have a shovel, carpet scraps, a piece of plywood, and a good jack in your car. You'll also want to have tire plugs and jumper cables in your vehicle -- and possibly one of those batteries you can jump a car off of. And basic tools.

Get to know your neighbors. Sooner or later you'll need them.

If you're on a well, have water stored. If the power goes out, you will otherwise have no water.

Have flashlights, and batteries, and a battery operated radio, for when the power goes out.

Make a habit of buying in "extras" when you buy supplies. It really stinks to have to drive to town because you need one minor thing: shampoo, toilet paper, sanitary products, batteries, saw blades, nails, screws, light bulbs, etc. ad nauseam ... you get the idea. If it's something that you can't do without (or which is simply no fun to do without) buy at least two. When you're down to the last one, before you run out, buy another on your regular shopping trip. This will also save your butt the first time bad weather traps you home.

Hide a spare key outside somewhere. It's a lot longer of a drive for a locksmith (or your SO) to come rescue you if you lock yourself out of the house.

Get a hand held spotlight. So you can identify just what it is that your dogs are barking at.

If you don't have dogs, get at least two. I honestly don't know how people live in the country without dogs. They're your early-warning system for trouble, be it two or four legged. And you need two, so they can back each other up.

If you're planning on getting livestock, build pens twice as sturdy as you think you'll need. The exception here is for goats. Goats need pens that would contain a rhino.

[3ravens]

This is a personal opinion, FWIW, but I've driven across rural Ontario, (and driven, and driven.....) The very first thing you need is some trees or buildings or fences to break up all that FLAT!! Now, this is from a mountain girl who lives in the holler..... I prefer my horizions a little closer than Alpha Centauri......
On a more practical note, make sure you have a copy of everybody's health record, especially whatever the children need for school. A copy of the glasses prescription if anybody wears them. Enough prescription meds to last until you can see the new doctor. Or can you just transfer them with the national health?
And if there's not a Tim's nearby, be sure to bring the tea and coffee, and something to make them in!

[shellyr44]

Congratulations, living in the country is the best. I would buy a really nice bottle of wine and savor you first night in the country.

[Beeman]

Patience and a sense of humor. Where you live I would worry about getting ready for cold weather first, check heat source and fuel.

[ai731]

Originally Posted by Cygnet

Hide a spare key outside somewhere. It's a lot longer of a drive for a locksmith (or your SO) to come rescue you if you lock yourself out of the house.

This is a great idea, and I hadn't thought of it yet - my parents did this on their place in upstate NY, and close relatives knew where the hidden key was so that they could drop in even if we weren't home.

We've been doing emergency prep and food storage/rotation in the city for a few years, so we're OK on all that stuff - we didn't have a car in the city (just bought a Toyota Matrix for moving to the country) so we aren't in the habit of being able to run to the store for things. We've already made contact with our nearest neighbor, in fact talking to him was one of the things that convinced us to put an offer in on our place. We're getting one dog to start with - it'll take some convincing to get DH to agree to more than one!

Thanks for all your suggestions!
Jan

[cathleenc]

we moved from the city to the country last october! and have loved every minute of it.

Did you pack a bottle of champagne to celebrate? Definitely worth marking the beginning of your adventure.

We changed climates as well as location type (southern coastal california to wisconsin, city to farm) so things like windshield scrapers and wool socks were things we needed that we did not anticipate. And fly swatters! the flies were hideous just before the cold set in and all the stores sold out of them. What about mouse traps?

enjoy! bet you'll have some good stories to tell soon enough.

[Cygnet]

Originally Posted by ai731

We're getting one dog to start with - it'll take some convincing to get DH to agree to more than one

You really should have two dogs, at a minimum. In the eyes of predators one dog is prey; two or more are a pack. They'll back each other up in a fight with coyotes or worse.