Moving from Ontario Canada to Los Angeles for PhD

[hellatrangsty]

Hi! I got accepted into my top choice PhD at University of Southern California. I got a really lovely email from an advanced grad student who's in their fifth or sixth year offering to guide me through the program and field any questions I might have. They also sent a 'living in LA' guide that around six of the current grad students had made with breakdown of the neighborhoods they live in and all sorts of helpful information.

Here's my dilemma, however: I'm finishing a Master's at Queen's University in Kingston,Ontario, Canada. I have a sublet here with my partner from May 1st to August 31st and classes start August 22nd at USC this Fall. My partner is also applying to USC but for a much different program and they don't usually notify until late March or early April.

So, I'd love any advice anyone could offer me on how to get from here to LA with my 'stuff'. I'm not bringing furniture (which may be a bad thing? I'm not sure how many LA apartments come furnished, although that's common in the places I've lived), I have probably 100 books I'd like to bring, I'm ditching a lot of clothes since it won't be anywhere near as cold there, and I have more books stored at my parents' house in North Carolina. I've already begun trying to figure out if it makes the most sense to ship things and try to beat the shipment there to pick them up, or if I should try to check multiple bags on a flight, or if there's some way that I could go down and get a storage unit or something before getting there.

Two other things. I'm American so I don't have to worry about a visa or anything (although my partner will, because he's Canadian). And I don't have like *any* savings because this degree as an international student has been quite expensive. I have between now and whenever I leave to potentially make/save money, but I just don't know what makes the most logistical sense. There's the smallest of chances my family might be able to pool resources to help me get out there, but even between them it won't be much more than a couple hundred or so (we're not a very well-off family at all).

Any advice on this would be greatly appreciated! And yes I do plan to ask the department about potentially helping with moving expenses, but not sure I want to rush that.

[kyjin]

Congrats on your acceptance, and welcome to USC!  I also moved from Canada to start my PhD out here (from Edmonton) three years ago. 

Unless you have pieces of furniture that you absolutely love and don't want to part with, I don't think it's worth it to ship out here. I found furniture to be much cheaper out here compared to Canada, so I would suggest selling what you can before you leave and use that money to help set up your new place here. For shipping books, I would take a look at what airline you'll be flying out here on and what their extra bag/oversize baggage fees are. In my case, I decided to pay the extra fees for a few boxes instead of trying to ship. It was easier knowing I had all my things with me, and less hassle in the long run. For getting your books stored at your parents, I highly recommend the US Postal service flat rate boxes. I packed some of the large flat rate boxes when I was visiting my folks back on the east coast, and every now and then they sent me a box. Cheaper than shipping by weight, and it all came pretty quickly. 

You won't find much in terms of pre-furnished places out here unless you're renting close to USC, which I would not recommend. (It's mainly undergrads who live close to campus, and the few grad students I know who lived there moved a year after they arrived because they disliked it.) Craigslist, yard sales, and discount furniture stores are your best bet to set up a place. And if you need a temporary place to stay while you're finding a permanent apartment out here, I know a number of grad students who lived in an AirBNB for the first month or so before they got themselves settled. 

You may want to talk to the financial aid office about a Grad Plus Loan that could help with moving expenses if your department doesn't come through, though I don't know much about what they can offer. 

Hope this helps, and good luck!

[Cat_Robutt]

@hellatrangsty Congrats! I'm moving away from Los Angeles, and @kyjin's advice is solid––there is an IKEA in Burbank, many smaller furniture shops, and people are always coming and going so Craigslist can be a very useful resource. 

Are there any of your books that have digital editions, or books you would be willing to give away or sell? If you can't ship them all via media mail, sometimes paring down the collection can help if you can bear to part with them ( know, I'm a book person, it's difficult!). If you have friends/family in the area, perhaps you could ask one of them to mail the pre-paid boxes to you once you've found an apartment?

Will you be driving? Having a car in Los Angeles is almost a must, so I'd recommend using your car or getting a car for life here.

Moving can be expensive; selling current items can help with that, moving as few items as possible, getting financial help if possible....all of those are possibilities even if they are not your favorite option. Hopefully you won't have to make any uncomfortable financial choices!

I know you've received several things to do/areas of the city, but if you'd like any additional recommendations on places to see, food to eat, museums to visit, etc. feel free to PM me! L.A. is huge and one could spend a lifetime discovering things here.

 

[rising_star]

We've discussed long distance moves a lot on here, including doing it as inexpensively as possible. Here are some previous posts which you may find helpful:

 

This one is on moving companies, specifically.

Here's one on moving with a partner.

Hope these help!