Having traveled through the Middle East rather extensively prior to 2001, I can say alcohol is not verboten, it's just a matter of of how far you are willing to walk to find it (in Damascus we once went about 11km before happening upon a bar that just happened to be the site of an 18th birthday celebration, and we had a fantastic night). And the Saudis wreak havoc around their borders, spilling into Jordan every night to gamble and drink, they were terrible.
Victoria is nicknamed the city of the Newlyweds and Nearly Deads for a reason. It is a nice place for a few days, a nice place to raise a family, but for 6 months I don't know. I think there may not be enough, unless, as stated, you are huge into the outdoors (or at least salmon and halibut fishing). It is pretty for a visit, and I know people who live there who love it (and don't actually fit into either of the above categories, but they almost all work at the University).
Personally if I was going for small town, I would rather go to a small town in Portugal, Spain, or France. We were just in Midi-Pyrenees in August, there are some really lovely towns and a lot of them quite easily connected by train so that you can head off easily elsewhere.
