0:00:03 > 0:00:08A staggering 500 people leave Northern Ireland every week in search of work abroad.
0:00:08 > 0:00:12We follow three families embarking on the biggest move of their lives.
0:00:13 > 0:00:16I was hoping he'd change his mind and not go.
0:00:16 > 0:00:19Through the highs and lows, the excitement and the fears,
0:00:19 > 0:00:22the tears and the heartache.
0:00:22 > 0:00:25This is possibly the last time I'll ever see my mum.
0:00:25 > 0:00:27And the final goodbyes.
0:00:42 > 0:00:47I graduated university with a master's degree in urban planning and property development.
0:00:47 > 0:00:49There wasn't many jobs happening.
0:00:51 > 0:00:56Like many Northern Irish graduates, Frank Boyd has struggled to get a foot on the career ladder.
0:00:56 > 0:01:00And is back home with his parents just outside Toome.
0:01:00 > 0:01:03Luckily for me, I had the family business to fall back on.
0:01:03 > 0:01:06I don't know what I'd be doing if this place wasn't here.
0:01:07 > 0:01:09I've worked here most of my life.
0:01:09 > 0:01:11I've always enjoyed the work.
0:01:11 > 0:01:15I never really saw myself going into the business
0:01:15 > 0:01:17like my brothers, maybe taking over the shop.
0:01:17 > 0:01:21I always wanted to do something else, go and find my own way.
0:01:21 > 0:01:25Over recent years, youth unemployment has rocketed.
0:01:25 > 0:01:30Frank's girlfriend Claire has found it difficult to get a steady job.
0:01:30 > 0:01:33But she too is now working at the Boyds' family shop.
0:01:33 > 0:01:36Claire is in the same boat now.
0:01:36 > 0:01:40There are jobs in Belfast but they're mostly sales-related jobs.
0:01:40 > 0:01:43Um, a lot of long hours.
0:01:43 > 0:01:47The shop's been running for years. It's Frank's dad's business.
0:01:47 > 0:01:52It was renovated just last year. That's when I started. I've been working here ever since.
0:01:52 > 0:01:57He invested in the till and the office. I've been working here full time for a year and a half.
0:01:57 > 0:02:04The thought of travelling has always appealed to me but I never really done anything about it.
0:02:04 > 0:02:08I've seen everybody else was leaving and I thought I want to see what this is like as well.
0:02:08 > 0:02:12So I talked to Claire and asked what she wanted to do.
0:02:12 > 0:02:16We decided we'd both be up for going somewhere to see what it was like.
0:02:16 > 0:02:19Always in the back of my head that I wanted to go away.
0:02:19 > 0:02:21I never thought New Zealand at the start.
0:02:21 > 0:02:24It was more Frank's idea. He was really determined.
0:02:24 > 0:02:29Once he finished university, he wanted to go somewhere. I was a bit apprehensive
0:02:29 > 0:02:32because I didn't know if I wanted to teach or where to go.
0:02:32 > 0:02:37I want to see what the market's like out there, especially for jobs in my degree.
0:02:37 > 0:02:40See what it's like to live in a different country.
0:02:40 > 0:02:42Try and make it on my own basically.
0:02:42 > 0:02:45We've got friends who have been to different places.
0:02:45 > 0:02:49Go for the year and then come back hoping to find a job here.
0:02:49 > 0:02:52But I like the idea of maybe settling somewhere else.
0:02:54 > 0:02:57- How are you two guys going today? - Not too bad.
0:02:57 > 0:03:00They say I might as well do it while I have the opportunity.
0:03:00 > 0:03:03A lot of the customers I have in here say
0:03:03 > 0:03:07go try it and see what it's like and if you enjoy it stick at it.
0:03:07 > 0:03:13I come from a really big family. They were apprehensive because no one else has moved away before.
0:03:13 > 0:03:16Mummy said to me that if I don't do it now I may never do it.
0:03:16 > 0:03:20Better do it now when I'm young and see as much of the world as I can.
0:03:21 > 0:03:25When Dane Barr qualified as a barrister, he thought he had a career for life.
0:03:25 > 0:03:29But after practicing for three years, work began to dry up.
0:03:29 > 0:03:33Unable to meet his annual barrister fees,
0:03:33 > 0:03:35Dane decided he'd have to find another job.
0:03:35 > 0:03:42After dozens of failed applications, he ended up working in the local supermarket.
0:03:44 > 0:03:47I've got to call in to my old work here
0:03:47 > 0:03:51and pick up some of my holiday pay.
0:03:51 > 0:03:54I ended up working in that grocery shop for seven months
0:03:54 > 0:03:58because I wasn't able to get anything more substantial.
0:03:58 > 0:04:02They told me they were umming and ahhing about hiring me because they thought,
0:04:02 > 0:04:05"Why does somebody with qualifications want to work here?"
0:04:05 > 0:04:11I would much prefer to work than sit back and say, "That's beneath me."
0:04:12 > 0:04:18All the way through school you're told, "Go to university, get a degree, get a good job."
0:04:18 > 0:04:21You're told that graduates earn so much more.
0:04:21 > 0:04:25Then you come out of university with a whole load of student debt
0:04:25 > 0:04:28and find out that isn't the case.
0:04:28 > 0:04:32Unable to pay the rent on his flat in Belfast,
0:04:32 > 0:04:35Dane was forced to move back in with his mum in Ballygowan.
0:04:35 > 0:04:40A lot of my life in the last seven years has been rather unceremoniously dumped.
0:04:40 > 0:04:42Everything's in boxes.
0:04:42 > 0:04:46I never expected to be back here again once I moved out.
0:04:46 > 0:04:51Once I realised I could afford to remain outside of my parents' house
0:04:51 > 0:04:54after I finished being a student,
0:04:54 > 0:04:57I thought, "This is great, this is it, this is how it works."
0:04:57 > 0:04:59I expected, at this point in my life,
0:04:59 > 0:05:04maybe to have a down payment ready for a house.
0:05:04 > 0:05:09While those at the top of the legal profession here can command six-figure salaries,
0:05:09 > 0:05:15for young barristers, getting established is a long hard slog for very little money.
0:05:15 > 0:05:20Another thing I won't be taking away with me is my wig,
0:05:20 > 0:05:25which would be about as much use to me out there as it has been to me here in the last year.
0:05:25 > 0:05:31That's one of the tools of my former trade.
0:05:31 > 0:05:36I always had the feeling that, really, what Dane wanted to do was ultimately be a judge.
0:05:36 > 0:05:41Because Dane didn't like it whenever I set rules for him.
0:05:41 > 0:05:45Dane is very close with sister Kelsey and mum Caroline.
0:05:45 > 0:05:47They've loved having him back in the house.
0:05:47 > 0:05:50But it's something they never expected to happen.
0:05:50 > 0:05:54When he came home, I was sad for him.
0:05:54 > 0:05:57He did think he was only going to be here for a few months.
0:05:57 > 0:06:01He was still very optimistic that he would find a career
0:06:01 > 0:06:07maybe in the legal field or maybe somewhere else. But, unfortunately, that didn't happen.
0:06:07 > 0:06:11I started applying for jobs while I was still practicing because
0:06:11 > 0:06:15I knew the way things were heading, and I'd have to get out of this.
0:06:15 > 0:06:19Eventually, I decided I'd have to leave and try somewhere entirely different.
0:06:19 > 0:06:23I'm going to Malaysia, to Kuala Lumpur.
0:06:23 > 0:06:27Which is, by all accounts, weathering the financial storm.
0:06:27 > 0:06:31I think it's sad that all these well-educated people full of promise
0:06:31 > 0:06:36have to actually go to another country to use their talents.
0:06:36 > 0:06:42I think that, once they leave, it's highly unlikely they'll come back.
0:06:46 > 0:06:52Recent years have seen Australian companies coming to Ireland and the UK to recruit skilled workers.
0:06:52 > 0:06:57Lurgan-based Brendan Rafferty has accepted a four-year contract to drive buses in Melbourne.
0:06:57 > 0:07:00He has five weeks to get his family ready to move.
0:07:00 > 0:07:06I've been a bus driver now for... It'll be ten years in May.
0:07:06 > 0:07:08When I finished university,
0:07:08 > 0:07:13I was working in a design studio for about three years.
0:07:13 > 0:07:18And, of all the office jobs there is,
0:07:18 > 0:07:20it's probably one of the more interesting ones.
0:07:20 > 0:07:24But, even as that, it really wasn't for me.
0:07:24 > 0:07:26I wasn't looking for an office job.
0:07:26 > 0:07:31The company have been really good to me.
0:07:31 > 0:07:36They've given me a year out, which means I can take a year career break.
0:07:36 > 0:07:39If I didn't have that, I probably wouldn't be doing this.
0:07:39 > 0:07:42I probably wouldn't be going to Australia.
0:07:43 > 0:07:47Although her work has allowed her to travel far and wide,
0:07:47 > 0:07:50Brendan's wife Sheila has always lived in Lurgan.
0:07:50 > 0:07:55Now she's giving up the job she loves for a new life far from her closest family and friends.
0:07:55 > 0:08:00An awful lot of people have come in and said, "I can't believe it. I've just heard."
0:08:00 > 0:08:04People who would know my family or just know that I'm going.
0:08:04 > 0:08:07Wishing me the best and "Go for it," and everything.
0:08:07 > 0:08:09It's only been positive things.
0:08:09 > 0:08:11They always say, "You can always come home."
0:08:11 > 0:08:15They end up saying that. Which is true. You can always come home if it doesn't work.
0:08:15 > 0:08:20We'll have to just be brave and take that plunge.
0:08:20 > 0:08:23We can only make up our minds when we are there.
0:08:23 > 0:08:27Brendan and Sheila are trying to convince their children Hannah and Adam
0:08:27 > 0:08:31that the move to Australia is for the best.
0:08:31 > 0:08:35Their future prospects are one of the main reasons for the family leaving.
0:08:36 > 0:08:42We've got the mobile home at a campsite. We've booked four weeks.
0:08:42 > 0:08:46And, hopefully, in those four weeks we'll get the home sorted out,
0:08:46 > 0:08:49the car sorted out, the school sorted out.
0:08:49 > 0:08:53The kids are a big concern, trying to sell it to the kids.
0:08:53 > 0:08:58So, if I can convince the kids from here, it's going to break the fall.
0:08:58 > 0:09:04Adam has taken quite a lot of persuasion to get him into the mindset of actually going over.
0:09:04 > 0:09:08In fact, I think he was dreading the idea from the start.
0:09:08 > 0:09:12At their age, the world is their friends, you know.
0:09:12 > 0:09:16That's what they care about most in the world.
0:09:16 > 0:09:21They come home from school, they go straight on to their computer games. Talking to their friends.
0:09:21 > 0:09:25They're just at that age where everything is around their friends.
0:09:25 > 0:09:30But we're assuring them that they will still have friends. Initially,
0:09:30 > 0:09:36Adam was very apprehensive. He literally burst out in tears.
0:09:36 > 0:09:38The thought of it scared him.
0:09:38 > 0:09:43And his reaction really took us to the point...
0:09:43 > 0:09:46"Oh, my goodness," we weren't expecting it to be that bad.
0:09:46 > 0:09:48I was very nervous.
0:09:48 > 0:09:51I was very, er,...
0:09:53 > 0:09:55..snapped, so I was.
0:09:55 > 0:09:59I was like, "What they got there?"
0:09:59 > 0:10:02It was just a big surprise, so it was.
0:10:03 > 0:10:07Whereas Hannah thought this was great, this was great news.
0:10:07 > 0:10:10It was the opposite with her.
0:10:10 > 0:10:14But as time's moved on, she's got a little bit more worried
0:10:14 > 0:10:16and things like that.
0:10:16 > 0:10:19I'm a wee bit sad in leaving my friends and family.
0:10:19 > 0:10:24Like, they all care and all.
0:10:24 > 0:10:28I'll miss everyone but it'll be all right.
0:10:28 > 0:10:34They're prepared to give it a go. The things that we'll be doing, we'll be doing it together.
0:10:34 > 0:10:38Um, they are going to find new friends when they start school.
0:10:38 > 0:10:42That's the first school we looked at, the primary school.
0:10:42 > 0:10:45They will have no problems.
0:10:45 > 0:10:50We're going to make sure they're going to have a ball when they arrive.
0:10:51 > 0:10:56The good thing is, this time of year, it is the summer time, the kids are all off school.
0:10:56 > 0:10:59We're hoping there will be other families and kids at the campsite.
0:10:59 > 0:11:03And they'll have fun, make friends even straightaway.
0:11:03 > 0:11:09They've only ever known this house, this street, this town.
0:11:09 > 0:11:12They've never lived anywhere other than this house.
0:11:12 > 0:11:16So I can understand it but we're giving them a big opportunity.
0:11:16 > 0:11:20We keep telling them that. We've also said to them
0:11:20 > 0:11:23that if it doesn't work out, we don't like it, we don't fit in,
0:11:23 > 0:11:25it's not for us, we'll come home.
0:11:29 > 0:11:32Dane is out with his uncles, sister, and father David.
0:11:32 > 0:11:35Although his parents are separated,
0:11:35 > 0:11:37the family have always remained close.
0:11:37 > 0:11:40There we go. It's your round again, Dane.
0:11:41 > 0:11:46We had a group hug almost earlier on this evening before we came out.
0:11:46 > 0:11:53That started the water works going. And, er, understandably so.
0:11:53 > 0:11:55It's the small things that I'll miss most.
0:11:55 > 0:12:01Where I was growing up and he and I were going across the fields to do a bit of hunting and things.
0:12:01 > 0:12:03And also to just generally walk about the fields
0:12:03 > 0:12:07and to pick up things from the ground and make things with them.
0:12:07 > 0:12:11Simple things like that that I'll miss quite a lot.
0:12:12 > 0:12:16I've grown up here and it's something I'm going to miss.
0:12:16 > 0:12:20You know, the scenery that I'm used to and the change of seasons.
0:12:20 > 0:12:25When I was younger, I'd be out running across the fields.
0:12:25 > 0:12:28Go into the woodlands. There used to be a bog or marshland.
0:12:28 > 0:12:31I used to go and pick up bog oak, oak trees that have died
0:12:31 > 0:12:35and fallen into the bog and been preserved over thousands of years.
0:12:35 > 0:12:37It's a really nice wood to work with
0:12:37 > 0:12:40for carving, for making things like jewellery and sculpture.
0:12:40 > 0:12:42Something really Irish as well.
0:12:42 > 0:12:47Something that grounds you to the country you're from and the area you're from.
0:12:48 > 0:12:53In Toome, Frank and Claire's departure is only a few days away.
0:12:53 > 0:12:58The idea of a permanent move is only just dawning on the Boyd family.
0:12:59 > 0:13:02Frank's mum Kathleen is trying her best to be supportive.
0:13:02 > 0:13:04I don't know.
0:13:04 > 0:13:09I feel that this is not what he wants to do, at the shop, working there.
0:13:09 > 0:13:11It wouldn't be fair to keep him there.
0:13:11 > 0:13:15I'm pleased that they're going, for them to see a bit of the world.
0:13:15 > 0:13:18But I would like to think they wouldn't settle there.
0:13:18 > 0:13:20That would be too far away.
0:13:20 > 0:13:25If they went to Canada, or near home, it would have been different.
0:13:25 > 0:13:27You have to let them go and see how things work out.
0:13:27 > 0:13:32I'm thinking I hope it doesn't work out for him and they come back here.
0:13:32 > 0:13:34But probably he's thinking different.
0:13:34 > 0:13:39I think a lot of the family think I'm just going for a year and then coming home.
0:13:39 > 0:13:45I haven't had the heart to tell them that, if it goes well, I could stay out there longer.
0:13:45 > 0:13:50It's their last week at home and both Frank and Claire are starting to feel a little anxious.
0:13:50 > 0:13:53- That's a map of the area. - I'm nervous.
0:13:53 > 0:13:57I think it's going to be a shock more than anything.
0:13:57 > 0:13:59It's realising it's not a holiday.
0:13:59 > 0:14:03We're actually going out to stay there for a year. Maybe longer.
0:14:03 > 0:14:10Um, I think what's worrying me is not being able to find a job and having to come back.
0:14:10 > 0:14:14Because we've been telling everybody, "Oh, we're going, we're going."
0:14:14 > 0:14:17I don't want to come back in a couple of weeks and say what went wrong.
0:14:17 > 0:14:20I think that's my biggest fear.
0:14:20 > 0:14:24I think people out there have more opportunities, basically,
0:14:24 > 0:14:30than what they have here. I hope the same opportunities are there for us.
0:14:30 > 0:14:32- The dream would be a nine-to-five job.- Yeah.
0:14:32 > 0:14:36I've worked every Saturday since I was 13. For the last 10 years.
0:14:36 > 0:14:39I would love a nine-to-five job from Monday to Friday.
0:14:39 > 0:14:43- Might not be that lucky. We'll take it as it comes.- I'll take anything.
0:14:43 > 0:14:45I've snagged drinks for a year and a half.
0:14:45 > 0:14:50I think I've taken that as far as I can go with that, you know.
0:14:50 > 0:14:53With departure now only two days away,
0:14:53 > 0:14:58Dane is moving the last of his belongings to his dad's house in Comber.
0:14:58 > 0:15:02I'm proud of him for making such a bold decision. I couldn't have done it at that age.
0:15:02 > 0:15:07But he's being brave about that. He's travelling alone on his own.
0:15:07 > 0:15:11I'm very hopeful he will be able to make it and someday he'll come back.
0:15:11 > 0:15:14I don't know how we'll get these bigger ones up here, Dad.
0:15:14 > 0:15:18He's not just a great son, Dane.
0:15:18 > 0:15:22He's a great friend of mine. I'll certainly miss watching the rugby with him.
0:15:22 > 0:15:27And having a pint with him. Having a few pints with him.
0:15:27 > 0:15:31This was drawn about two years ago.
0:15:31 > 0:15:33It will always hang on the wall.
0:15:33 > 0:15:35And, um...
0:15:35 > 0:15:39And to remind me of him when he's away, you know.
0:15:43 > 0:15:49In Lurgan, Brendan is spending time with Adam to find out how he's feeling about the move to Australia.
0:15:49 > 0:15:51ADAM LAUGHS
0:15:51 > 0:15:56Adam has been struggling with the idea ever since Brendan was offered a job there.
0:15:56 > 0:15:59- That was the best one. - Yep.
0:15:59 > 0:16:02When I first got the email
0:16:02 > 0:16:07- about the whole Australia thing, you didn't want to do it.- Yeah.
0:16:07 > 0:16:11Was it that you were going off to make new friends the biggest problem?
0:16:11 > 0:16:14I'm just going to miss my old friends and family.
0:16:14 > 0:16:20If we could go and I could take five friends with me, I'd really want to go.
0:16:20 > 0:16:22Is that the way you still think?
0:16:22 > 0:16:28- You kind of have convinced me, you did.- Did I?- Yeah.
0:16:28 > 0:16:31It looks very good. I looked it up on YouTube
0:16:31 > 0:16:34and there's lots of beaches and they look really long.
0:16:34 > 0:16:36Oh!
0:16:36 > 0:16:41My biggest worry will be my kids definitely.
0:16:41 > 0:16:46Because, regardless of how much money you're going to earn,
0:16:46 > 0:16:49or what the climate is,
0:16:49 > 0:16:52everybody knows what Australia is about.
0:16:52 > 0:16:58But my kids happiness is by far the most important thing ever.
0:17:00 > 0:17:02I think they'll be OK.
0:17:11 > 0:17:13Tonight's just about seeing friends.
0:17:13 > 0:17:18We're going in two days' time, so probably the last chance to see everyone before we go.
0:17:21 > 0:17:25I've never been away at Christmas before. I'm going to miss family.
0:17:25 > 0:17:30It'll only be the wife and me in the house this Christmas.
0:17:30 > 0:17:33So a bit of a change.
0:17:33 > 0:17:37I will miss him terribly and especially at Christmas.
0:17:37 > 0:17:40For Claire's parents Essy and Mick it's the first time
0:17:40 > 0:17:43one of their nine children will be living so far from home.
0:17:43 > 0:17:45and for such a long time.
0:17:45 > 0:17:50Christmas time, that's the time I like to see them all about.
0:17:50 > 0:17:53It's not really a good time to go away.
0:17:53 > 0:17:57Just at Christmas, it's even worse I think.
0:17:57 > 0:17:59CHATTER
0:17:59 > 0:18:04It's been a bit mental. It's been busy trying to sort everything out.
0:18:04 > 0:18:10I didn't give myself a lot of time between booking my flights and having to go.
0:18:10 > 0:18:15Bitten off a bit more than I can chew in terms of having to get everything sorted.
0:18:15 > 0:18:19It all depends on whether I'll be able to get a job out there.
0:18:19 > 0:18:23I'm not going out to a particular job.
0:18:23 > 0:18:25So it's a case of...
0:18:25 > 0:18:30I know I've got enough saved up to last me maybe four or five months.
0:18:30 > 0:18:35But, hopefully, I'll be able to get employment a lot more quickly than that.
0:18:36 > 0:18:40The hardest thing to leave behind will be my friends and family.
0:18:40 > 0:18:44A lot of the friends I have I've known since I was in school.
0:18:44 > 0:18:46LAUGHTER
0:18:46 > 0:18:50It's not ideal but I know exactly why you're doing it.
0:18:50 > 0:18:55Things here with jobs has been terrible. Like, it's been what,
0:18:55 > 0:19:00three years of just struggling to get any sort career going.
0:19:00 > 0:19:05Our friendships are going to last not hold you back from doing what you want to do.
0:19:05 > 0:19:10It's not going to split us up. Things like Facebook will keep us in contact.
0:19:10 > 0:19:14You know, just go over and see. In the end, it'll be like that.
0:19:18 > 0:19:22It's Claire's final night. The family have gathered to say their farewells.
0:19:24 > 0:19:26Among them are sisters Melanie, Lisa and Janet.
0:19:29 > 0:19:33Claire's parents have been worrying about her leaving for weeks.
0:19:33 > 0:19:35The thought of her going hasn't got easier.
0:19:35 > 0:19:37Be careful.
0:19:37 > 0:19:41'It's been a terrible fear for years that she would go away.'
0:19:41 > 0:19:45It splits families up.
0:19:45 > 0:19:50They don't realise it but their parents and even grandparents
0:19:50 > 0:19:54that could be the last they'll see of them.
0:19:54 > 0:19:58I think Claire will miss the rest of the family.
0:19:58 > 0:20:03And the rest of the family will miss her because they're close.
0:20:03 > 0:20:06- The two young girls are close. - They're very close.
0:20:06 > 0:20:08The youngest are very close.
0:20:08 > 0:20:15I find it very weird that I wouldn't be living the rest of my life and she's just there.
0:20:15 > 0:20:18But I'd be happy for her if that's what she wants to do.
0:20:18 > 0:20:22I'll be happy knowing she went to such lengths to go and get a job and it worked out well.
0:20:22 > 0:20:28It will be really strange me growing up and having children, her having a family maybe.
0:20:28 > 0:20:33They won't know each other. They're cousins but they live on the other side of the world.
0:20:33 > 0:20:35It will be strange.
0:20:36 > 0:20:39For the future, I would really like her to be able to get work
0:20:39 > 0:20:44in Ireland or England or somewhere so that she'd be...
0:20:45 > 0:20:47- Nearer home. - ..near home.
0:20:47 > 0:20:51Maybe we won't ever see Claire again, you know.
0:20:51 > 0:20:53That's what's really...
0:20:55 > 0:20:58It's just sort of dawned on me that I'm going away.
0:20:58 > 0:21:01It's starting to feel real. Everybody saying goodbye.
0:21:01 > 0:21:06The final pack and stuff. I'm realising this is it, I'm going now.
0:21:06 > 0:21:10When you live in a small town, you know everybody and everyone knows you.
0:21:10 > 0:21:12It's that sense of community.
0:21:12 > 0:21:16Um, but maybe going somewhere... Sorry.
0:21:16 > 0:21:18CRIES
0:21:18 > 0:21:20It's OK.
0:21:23 > 0:21:25This is very strange for me
0:21:25 > 0:21:28because I've never lived away from home.
0:21:29 > 0:21:32I moved out of my mum's house to come straight to my own house.
0:21:32 > 0:21:37I don't know what it's like to be somewhere, you know,
0:21:37 > 0:21:39without family.
0:21:39 > 0:21:42I've left my work.
0:21:42 > 0:21:47So definitely no looking back now. Have to go forward now.
0:21:47 > 0:21:50"Bon voyage, Sheila. We'll miss you."
0:21:50 > 0:21:54It's just... I sometimes find it hard to read them.
0:21:56 > 0:21:59"We will really miss you but think you're making the right move."
0:21:59 > 0:22:04"Many thanks for all the help you have been since I started here in Lurgan."
0:22:06 > 0:22:10"My friend, my confidante for over 20 years."
0:22:10 > 0:22:12"Been through so much together,
0:22:12 > 0:22:16who will I confide in now? We'll miss you, love Marie."
0:22:18 > 0:22:21I can't really read this card.
0:22:21 > 0:22:23CRIES
0:22:24 > 0:22:27The Rafferty family leave for Melbourne, Australia, in the morning.
0:22:27 > 0:22:31The car has been sold and their tenants are ready to move in.
0:22:31 > 0:22:33Brendan is finding leaving the family home
0:22:33 > 0:22:36more difficult than he'd imagined.
0:22:36 > 0:22:41Washing machine, tumble dryer, microwave oven.
0:22:41 > 0:22:45The family that are renting the house have to come and sign the tenancy agreement.
0:22:45 > 0:22:49I have to do an inventory, which I'm going to write out.
0:22:50 > 0:22:54I never anticipated that this house has a personality.
0:22:54 > 0:22:57I look at the house as a part of the family.
0:22:57 > 0:23:00To see it empty now, it was...
0:23:00 > 0:23:05Anybody thinking of doing this, don't think you can walk away from a house and it will be easy.
0:23:05 > 0:23:09Because your house really is a big part of your life.
0:23:20 > 0:23:23It's 1am in Belfast and Dane is taking the bus to Dublin airport.
0:23:23 > 0:23:26It's unreal at the minute for me.
0:23:26 > 0:23:32It just seems a bit surreal in the sense that, you know, it's so close to Dane going now.
0:23:32 > 0:23:37But, at the same time, it seems more like a dream than a reality to me.
0:23:37 > 0:23:40I'm afraid I haven't been doing very well, unfortunately.
0:23:40 > 0:23:42CRIES
0:23:46 > 0:23:50I think what it is, is that I'm more worried for you two.
0:23:55 > 0:23:59I think, somewhere in the back of my mind,
0:23:59 > 0:24:02I was hoping he'd change his mind and not go.
0:24:02 > 0:24:06But I know he's going to be fine. It's the best thing for him.
0:24:06 > 0:24:10And it will be an adventure and he's always got us to come home to.
0:24:11 > 0:24:14- This last couple of days, he has been a bit emotional.- Yeah.
0:24:14 > 0:24:17But he's good at hiding it. He's very good at hiding it.
0:24:17 > 0:24:22We told Kelsey that she needn't think she was ever going to go anywhere.
0:24:22 > 0:24:25I just couldn't lose both of them.
0:24:27 > 0:24:29I don't know what the future holds for me, really.
0:24:29 > 0:24:33I'd like to come back. I've always seen myself having a life here.
0:24:33 > 0:24:37But it really all depends on what the state of the economy is.
0:24:37 > 0:24:40Whether there's something worth coming back to.
0:24:40 > 0:24:43Whether I'll be able to get a job.
0:24:43 > 0:24:46I could end up staying in Malaysia.
0:24:46 > 0:24:49But I'd like to come back to Ireland. I mean, it's a beautiful country.
0:24:53 > 0:24:56- You all right? - I'm kind of nervous.
0:24:56 > 0:25:00It's also an early start for the families in Toome
0:25:00 > 0:25:03as Frank and Claire get ready to leave from the airport.
0:25:03 > 0:25:08'I know I will have bad days when I'm there but I think the good will outweigh the bad.'
0:25:08 > 0:25:11'I'm feeling good-ish.'
0:25:12 > 0:25:15See you later.
0:25:16 > 0:25:18And you too.
0:25:22 > 0:25:27'Especially in the past week or so, I've been starting to feel my nerves a lot.'
0:25:27 > 0:25:29See you in a month.
0:25:29 > 0:25:30LAUGHTER
0:25:30 > 0:25:32'If things go wrong, there's always the shop.'
0:25:32 > 0:25:36'But I want to give it a try before I decide what to do with the rest of my life.'
0:25:36 > 0:25:38Thank you.
0:25:38 > 0:25:41I just think, at their age, it's a great opportunity.
0:25:41 > 0:25:44I hope they do well and get work.
0:25:44 > 0:25:47But I hope they don't get a permanent job all the same.
0:25:47 > 0:25:50- See you later. - Bye.
0:25:50 > 0:25:53See you later.
0:25:53 > 0:25:56CAR HORN SOUNDS
0:26:05 > 0:26:10I'm just trying not to cry. I know if I start I won't stop for hours.
0:26:10 > 0:26:12It still hasn't sunk in yet.
0:26:12 > 0:26:16Probably two hours during the flight, we're like, "Oh, no! What are we doing?"
0:26:19 > 0:26:22The Raffertys are spending their last night in an airport hotel.
0:26:22 > 0:26:24Look after yourself.
0:26:24 > 0:26:28This is where they'll say their goodbyes to those dearest to them.
0:26:28 > 0:26:32Goodbye, Sheila. Go on. And good luck, Sheila.
0:26:32 > 0:26:38- I hope you have a nice time. - We will.- And drop us a wee postcard when you get settled.
0:26:38 > 0:26:41I only have the one sister and she was devastated by it.
0:26:41 > 0:26:47And I reassured her. Don't think of it as being forever just think of it as being for now.
0:26:47 > 0:26:50- I love you. - I love you too.
0:26:50 > 0:26:54- You know I love you. Don't worry. - I know. I love you too.
0:26:54 > 0:26:56All right.
0:26:56 > 0:26:59When I watched my mum leaving the car park,
0:26:59 > 0:27:05I thought to myself, "This is possibly the last time I'll ever see my mum," because she's in her 70s
0:27:05 > 0:27:07and we don't know what's going to happen over here.
0:27:14 > 0:27:16OK.
0:27:20 > 0:27:24It says boarding time 07:55 at gate number 410.
0:27:24 > 0:27:29I'm just so glad now that we're getting on the flight now,
0:27:29 > 0:27:31so the rest is just up to fate.
0:27:33 > 0:27:39As the recession drags on, there seems little chance of a let up in the number of people emigrating.
0:27:40 > 0:27:43More disillusioned youth heading overseas.
0:27:43 > 0:27:49More tearful goodbyes and more families separated by oceans.
0:27:49 > 0:27:51All searching for a better future on distant shores.
0:27:57 > 0:27:59I'm back now after a month.
0:27:59 > 0:28:04We always said from the start, if any one of us didn't like it, we would come home.
0:28:04 > 0:28:07As it turned out there was two of us, my son and me.
0:28:07 > 0:28:09Sheila would still be there.
0:28:09 > 0:28:12I'm still in the doghouse with my wife regarding that end of it.
0:28:12 > 0:28:16The isolation in Australia for us was immense.
0:28:16 > 0:28:19I didn't anticipate it and I should have.
0:28:20 > 0:28:22It is the hardest thing you'll ever do.
0:28:22 > 0:28:26Nobody should take that decision lightly. Think what you have here before you go.
0:28:26 > 0:28:30Sometimes... I've realised there's a lot of things I've taken for granted.
0:28:30 > 0:28:35And it's only when you're away that you realise that.
0:28:35 > 0:28:41You have to be 100% absolutely positive that you want to do this like nothing else.
0:28:41 > 0:28:44And I wasn't.
0:28:45 > 0:28:47Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd