Vancouver ex-pat touts Saskatchewan online, encourages others to move here

Dozens of videos on Gordon More’s TikTok account talk about his move from Vancouver to Estevan — how and why he did it, what he has learned, and several admiring the beauty of Saskatchewan sunsets.

More and his family arrived in the province in 2021 from Vancouver.

“(My wife and I) both were feeling that Vancouver was no longer a good place to live (and) to raise kids,” said More.

Then his wife got an offer to come and work as a doctor in Saskatchewan, and they decided to take the plunge.

“Vancouver, and I’ve been back a few times, it’s just not a happy place. The people there are just overall, in general, a quite miserable group — and I understand why, when you’re paying 80 per cent of your income on a mortgage if you can afford it or rent,” explained More.

They spent some time in a few different places in the province as his wife got her licence to practise in Saskatchewan, then settled in Estevan this past December. He said it’s been quite interesting so far.

“To experience the Saskatchewan friendliness is amazing. The openmindedness of most people, it’s really nice,” he said.

More started making TikToks when he was trying to navigate getting his electric vehicle from Vancouver to Saskatchewan in the middle of winter, then he kept going with them because some were telling him he was crazy to move to Estevan.

But More compares Vancouver to him being a turtle and the city being boiling water.

“When I stepped out and came to rural Saskatchewan, Estevan, I didn’t realize that that water had been boiling, and the level of happiness that I experience day to day, the stress level is gone. Just the whole mood is surprisingly a lot better. I didn’t realize it would be so much,” said More.

He said there’s a lot of opportunity in Saskatchewan and he didn’t see anyone else doing it so he took it upon himself to promote that with his videos.

“There’s gold on the street and everyone’s just walking past it and it’s frustrating,” said More.

More has been getting a lot of response to his videos.

“I get a lot of people reaching out through social media or they find my email address,” he said. “From Vancouver or Toronto (or) Montreal, basically (they) say, ‘Help. I want to get out there. What you’re describing is perfect.’ And one of the questions a lot of people have is, ‘What’s employment like?’ and ‘Can I bring my job with me?’”

So, with all the questions and interest, he held a seminar Wednesday night to give more detail on living in Saskatchewan and encouragement on making the move. He said there was good engagement and he’d like to do another.