Shopping guide for setting up home in BC

Shopping guide for setting up home

When you arrive in Canada you have probably sold or got rid of a lot of your stuff in the UK before you left. So you could be faced with a massive shopping expedition, just at the point when you are most jet lagged.

One other factor that suggests you will need to go shopping is that your house is likely to be larger. There may be a rec room, a basement, a media room... who knows?

So this is a short guide to help you find your way around the shops and think about what you might need to buy. When we were in this situation we appreciated people telling us where to look for certain things. It can simply be overwhelming if you don’t even know which shops sell what.

What might you need to buy?

Appliances

Let’s start with the good news. Most Canadian homes come with appliances. You will get an oven, called a stove, a fridge/freezer, a washer and a dryer. Most likely you will also get a microwave.

You can make sure that these are all in working order simply by including this in the conditions you specify in your offer to buy. Your realtor will include this in your contract for you.

Beds

You may have sold your beds before you left because Canadian bed sizes are not the same as the UK, as the table below shows.

UK Single - 36 X 75 =
Twin - 39 x 75
UK double - 54 x 75 =
double - 54 x 75
UK king - 60 x 78 =
queen - 60 x 80
UK double king - 72 x 78 =
King - 76 x 80

Guide price:

King mattress and box set $1250
Queen mattress and box set $700
Double mattress and box set $500
Twin mattress and box set $350

When you want to get a bed, there are a number of places in B.C. that you might want to visit.

Sleep Country
Wide (bewildering?) choice of mattresses. They tend to have large stock and do have free delivery. Ask for a discount, especially if you buy more than one bed. We used them and got good service.
The Brick
This national chain store covers most of Canada. It sells furniture and bedding as well as appliances and consumer electronics. It often has sales of the “nothing to pay until…” kind. If you are looking for a bed set – chest of drawers, bedside tables and bed then there are deals on these.
Ikea
There are a few Ikea stores in B.C. with Vancouver being well served. Now has Canadian bed sizes. They will deliver but you still have to get the beds onto a cart and through the check outs.

Electrical Goods

Most people do not bring their electrical goods to Canada because the electrical supply is 110 volts.

A snowshoe trail on Cypress Mountain, VancouverYou can bring some things however. Most computers will have a switch on the back that allows you to run it at 110 volts. If not you can easily get the computer’s power supply replaced.

You might want to consider bringing high value electrical goods and running them with a transformer. Some people even bring their TV’s and DVD players or games consoles. This way they can be used for games and DVD’s from the UK.

Below is a list of some electrical goods you might need, along with prices. These are rough guides and I cannot claim they are the best price you can get.

TV’s
TV’s – Sony 42” Grand Wega $3,500
Small TV $300
Xbox : $350
Telephones
Your home will not have a telephone handset. You can buy them from $20 up to over $100. Large houses mean you will need several handsets.
Kettle: $30 - $50
Coffee maker: $30 to whatever you want to pay
Lights
Canadian homes often have no or little overhead lighting, so you tend to need to buy table or floor lamps. Good places for these are Ikea and the department stores. Prices will vary widely.
Hi-Fi’s
Futureshop is a good source for these. Also the Brick and the major department stores.
Vacuum cleaners
Houses sometimes have built-in vacuum systems, where there are outlets in the wall for you to plug in the vacuum hose. If you do need a vacuum, then the department stores, Futureshop and the Brick are again good places to go. An upright vacuum cleaner will be around $100 or more.
Garden equipment
You may need to get a lawn mower, snow blower, power washer, weed whacker (strimmer)
A lawn mower starts at $300 and goes up to $2,000 or more for a sit-on mower.
Snow blower? $500 - $1,500 depending on how much snow you need to clear - none in Vancouver. Canadian tire, Home depot, WalMart and Sears.
BBQ grill
To be truly Canadian you will need a gas BBQ. Canadian Tire is a good place for this and to get your patio set. A gas grill will be $400 and up to over $1,000, depending on how fancy you want to get.

This is not a comprehensive list, but is one that will help you. If you want you can use the links to stores to get a more accurate idea of the costs for the products you want.

Note that you will have other major purchases such as a home and a car.

Relocation services for British Columbia, Canada

Section links:

See also: