If you tuned in for part one of Highland’s Moving Guide, you know that the first step to a successful move is to hire a team of professionals to help you get from Point A to Point B!
Now that you’re here, you must’ve found and reserved your moving company. Congratulations! What’s next?
Step 2: Complete your change of address checklist.
After you’ve set yourself up for moving day, it’s time to get your affairs in order so when you arrive at your new house it’s already starting to feel like home. Create a checklist of everything you’ll need to do to officially complete your change of address and who you’ll need to notify. There are a few different areas you’ll want to cover.
Healthcare
For a local move, you’ll simply want to inform your current medical providers of your updated address and if your pharmacy location has changed. If you’re moving long-distance, you should arrange to have your medical records transferred to your new primary doctor, dentist, and specialty providers. Don’t forget to do the same for your veterinarian either, if your home includes a four-legged friend!
Clubs & Organizations
As soon as your move becomes a definite, the first company to notify is the one you work for, especially if you’ve accepted a new position elsewhere. If you’re just moving across town or down the street and are staying at your current job, you must still alert your employer to your change of address for human resource purposes.
After your company is aware of your impending move, you should turn your attention to other institutions and organizations you belong to:
- Children’s school
- Community groups
- Gym membership
- Streaming/online shopping services
- Mail & subscriptions
- Insurance companies (life, dental, vision, motor, medical, homeowner’s, employment)
Financial
You never want to end up in a situation where you miss a bill or default on a loan payment because you didn’t receive the information you needed to know about or take care of it. That’s why it’s crucial that you notify all of your financial institutions of any change in address.
Be sure to inform your bank, credit card companies, credit unions, and any loan providers (school, car, mortgage, personal, etc.). You might also want to switch to branches of these companies that are closer to your new home. If your move is long-distance, be aware that you may end up having to switch banks entirely!
Government
When you move in Canada, there are a number of provincial and national institutions that need to be notified. It’s important that these agencies have your updated contact information so they can ensure you continue to receive essential and confidential information. Most of these establishments make the process easy with submission forms available online.
- Canada Post
- Ministry of Health
- Canada Customs & Revenue Agency
- Ministry of Transportation
- Vehicle registration
- Old Age Security
- Canada pension plan
Utilities
Imagine you’ve finally made it to your new house, the boxes have been unloaded from the truck, and all you want to do is take a hot shower and fall asleep to your favorite movie. Sounds relaxing, right? You go to turn on the shower and…there’s no water!
Okay, no problem, you’ll just head to bed and start the movie. You unwrap your TV, plug it in, and nothing happens. Oh, that’s right, you forgot to have your electric turned on!
You can avoid this situation and make things easy on yourself by having your utilities transferred and turned on by the time you arrive at your new house. You’ll have to let your service providers know your new address and the specific dates you want your utilities turned off at your old place and on at your new one. Be sure to contact your:
- Electric company
- Gas company
- Water department
- Cable & Internet provider
- Cell phone service
- Waste removal department
Once you’ve alerted everyone on your checklist about your upcoming move, it’s time to move on to the next step of the process. Check back with our blog soon to find out what that is and exactly how to conquer it!
