I'm surprised you think New York or Vancouver are lower cost than SV. Externalities (housing, cost of living, etc.) are the same or higher than the other places. Talent may be more expensive but that's because that's (by and large) where the talent actually is.
"- Relatively low cost (compared to, say, San Francisco);"
That is true for most of Canada. Vancouver is expensive, but other cities are cheaper than SF. I have a 1 bedroom apartment in one of the nicest areas of Montreal for $650 per month.
I'm an American living in Australia right now (Adelaide) and wife and I are thinking of moving to Victoria on Vancouver Island. She's a GP and I'm a geek.
I know the home prices are going to be high, but tbh, it seems Australia is also quite high! If one was willing to live in the suburbs, a bit away from the city, is it really as bad as people say?
Canada is one of the few developed countries who hasn't seen their housing bubble burst yet, and the bubble is most pronounced in coastal BC and the Greater Toronto Area. Vancouver, for a time, was riding some of the highest housing prices in the world.
But that tide is turning, as it has everywhere else in the world. Sooner than later there will be deals to be had.
Good advice, thanks. I've been reading sites like greaterfool.ca and following the RE market in .ca quite closely.
Wife and I agree that we would rent for a while as the rents are quite low compared to mortgages and we would see what happens. Either way, IMO, when mortgages are 2x-3x higher than rents, it doesn't make much fiscal sense to buy.
What attracts you to Victoria? It's a vastly different climate, of course. It's a beautiful city in summer. You'd be in a corner for travel purposes. (I'll be leaving the Pacific Northwest mainly to get out of the corner.)
Mostly that it is close to Vancouver and Seattle, has really nice weather for .ca and Vancouver Island is an outdoor playland for someone like me.
I'm also a person who likes smaller places, but need to be close to an international airport (for work) so Victoria has that going for it.
My wife is a GP and likes to be in smaller communities so she can connect with the people more, so that is playing in her mind.
And we have kids and don't really want to raise them in a "city". That, and the schools in Victoria seem to be really good...and they have a good French immersion school. Our kids speak French, but neither my wife or I can properly teach them to read or write...so we wanted to send them to French school until about 8th grade.
Haven't kept tabs on it lately, but one resource for the Victoria tech scene is the Victoria Advanced Technology Council (VIATeC) site: http://www.viatec.ca
