My dog refused to be crate trained, we had to go with gating him in the kitchen when we were away. I don't know why but he preferred the space. I didn't work when we got him so it was pretty easy to potty train him. He now goes and sits by the door when he wants to go out
Be prepared puppies are like babies. You will be up with them in the middle of the night for the first couple of months. My dog still gets up at 6:30 AM no matter what - it is annoying on the weekends.
When you are looking for a Vet, if you don't already have one, I suggest you look for one that is
AAHA certified (American Animal Hospital Association). This is a voluntary certification so you hope that vets who have this hold themselves to a higher standard. If you move a lot, like I do, then this makes it easy to find a Vet in your new area as well.