I'm in LA, and have been acting for 3 years now.

I've built a pretty decent resume of (mostly non-union) student, short & feature films, a few commercials and a number of webseries. Very few paid parts. About 35 productions in all, and a fair number of them on IMDB. And the work has allowed me to put together a pretty good demo reel.

I became SAG-AFTRA in 2011, and have been sending agent submissions, with very little luck, since then.

Now, my wife might have an opportunity for a better position at her company....if she moves to Vancouver, BC.

I know LA/Hollywood is the hub of just about everything, but what does Vancouver have to offer? I'm somewhat of a dual citizen; born in Canada, U.S. naturalized in 1996, but still have my Canadian birth certificate.

Can I make a living as an actor in Vancouver? Will I need to pay more money to join Canada's acting union? Could it possibly be LESS competitive than LA? I'm particularly struck by the possible fact that I may have to start all over if we moved.

Thoughts? Advice?

Sorry bro, but you Probably can't make a living b/c for 1, there's maybe 5-7 Network shows in Vancouver , and for the most part, all of the series regulars and big Guest Stars are cast out of LA. Its definately less competitive, and If I were a white female persay, I would consider moving to Vancouver for awhile to maybe get some co-star credits from these shows and then move back to LA with some recognizable credits. But making a living....um not really feasible. Good luck;

One thing you might consider is that there is a clause in every production seeking tax credit in Vancouver is that the majority of actors, not including leads, must be Canadian. There is plenty of work in Vancouver if you are known. We spent a month this spring shooting a feature that had 5 leads from the states and the rest including suporting and background from BC. Features and tv are very comon, why else do they call it Hollywood North?
Yes, you can make a living up there.

Look at Christmas Story 2. 5 leads from US the rest of the cast BC. Everyone was flying back and forth from LA to BC for auditions. You can work both sides of the boarder....
(One of the child actors dad was a extra agent, so we heard the inside scoop.)

Nothing is impossible. Just remember that CDs in Van will have their pool of preferred actors to draw from so it may take some time to get in front of them if they've never seen you before, like in any other market. I also don't know about the work permit issue. I know for Canadians wanting to work in LA, that unless it's a pretty major role, it's almost impossible to get a permit to work there. Plus you require a SSN. In Canada you require a Social Insurance Number - not sure how easy that is to get. So just do your research and cross all your t's and dot all your i's. Good luck!