Thinking about Vancouver

[jcw148]

Hi Everyone -

This is my first post, so a bit of background is necessary.

I'm an American living in Australia (Adelaide) but looking to relocate family to Vancouver, Canada. We live in AU on my wive's skilled migrant visa (she is a MD GP who does full spectrum medicine with OB). We like Australia quite a bit and would generally consider staying here forever, but it is very far from our family and the taxes here are quite high.

So, we are thinking about our next move and I am looking at Vancouver, BC. A bit more background. My wife is a dual citizen (Canada and US) but is not licensed to practice medicine in Canada (her degree and residency are both US).

My background is computers (programming, architecture, management and startups). I work remotely for a UK company so do not anticipate a problem with me working.

My questions are the following:

1. Even though my wife was born in Canada, she HATES the cold, which is why I was thinking Vancouver with the more mild winters. That being said, how cold exactly is Vancouver and will she eventually want to leave me for suggesting it?

2. I've heard that Vancouver is very expensive for homes. Is that generally true for renting as well as purchasing? The number I've seen quoted is 11x earnings is typical in Vancouver for a home price. That is quite high. Does that also hold for the outlying bedroom communities?

3. Taxes. The taxes in AU are, frankly, crazy. Wife is around 45% and I am around 37%. What should we expect in Canada?

4. Anyone know about medical licensing for US docs? How difficult is it to get licensed?

5. We have two young kids (4 and 1). Do they REALLY have to like hockey?

Thanks everyone. Looking forward to learning more!

Thanks,
Jason