Boyd Family Wanted Down Under Revisited

Imagine packing up your life, and leaving behind all you hold dear

to move to the other side of the world.

Could you make that heart-wrenching decision?

In 2009, that's what lay ahead for the Boyd family when we gave them

the opportunity to sample life in Australia.

Today we're paying them a visit to discover what decision they made.

Did they stay in the UK or did they move Down Under?

The Boyd family from Ayrshire had been agonising over a move to Australia for many years.

A lot of people think, "It's simple, just pack up and

"move off somewhere nicer than where you live." It's not that easy.

They'd struggled to find the property of their dreams.

I've got an image in my head of what I'm looking for and this just isn't it.

And Naomi got very upset at the thought of leaving loved ones she may never see again.

It hits me the most with my nana, to be honest with you,

because, as I say, I don't think I'll see her, so...

Sorry, I keep crying.

It was a massive decision that left the family divided.

This scares me because I instigated it I've built up everybody's hopes and I might shatter the lot.

What did they decide and where are they now?

In 2009 the Boyds from Ayrshire were faced with a life-changing decision.

Whether to stay in Scotland or move halfway round the world.

We gave them one week to experience every aspect of life in Australia.

But what happened next?

James and Naomi Boyd and sons Kieren and Dylan

lived in Ayrshire and spent

many years considering a move to Australia.

It was initially my idea. Like I say, I'm the one that's always kind of fancied doing a shift abroad.

It took James ten years to persuade me to actually want to go,

but since last year, I've really pushed for it

and it's me who's the leading force, really.

The neighbourhood in Stevenson has seen some changes over the last few years and that worried Naomi.

The area that we live in used to be a really good area.

It was a fantastic place.

Over, though, I'd say the past ten to 15 years it has just declined.

Now it's a knife culture and a drug culture.

There's nowhere really you can take the kids which is safe anymore.

My fear is, staying here,

my kids are eventually going to become either a victim of it

or one of them I don't want my kids to become another statistic.

I don't want to be here to let that happen.

Although desperate to go, the Boyds were torn by the idea of leaving loved ones behind.

The biggest person who I'm going to miss is definitely going to be my nana.

She raised me - up until my dad remarried. She's in her 80s now and if we go to Australia,

I probably won't get to see her again, cos she would never be able to make that flight.

She wouldn't be able to do the journey and I don't know when we would first be able to

get back here and if something happened to her then, I'm the other side of the world, that's hard.

Sorry...

Just, I wonder...

Like I say, I've got my doubts kicking in, but I'm just wondering

have I done the right thing trying to talk Naomi into this because

I see how upset she gets and obviously this upsets me.

It's my wife.

So on top of my own stuff, there's this.

Already torn between staying or going the week in Oz looking for their new life,

would push them to their limits.

To help James, Naomi and the boys consider the huge risk they'll be taking, we sent them to Darwin,

in the Northern Territory where they had the opportunity to sample

the lifestyle for just one week.

The 24-hour flight was a mammoth trip. Having landed in Darwin in the early hours with two small children,

the long journey had Naomi and James worried.

-Tired.

-That was an experience and a half.

-Knackered.

I was just saying that would take something

if we were making visits back and forth every year to the UK.

-That would take its toll, that would.

-Definitely not.

Making their way to their rented accommodation,

they desperately needed something to cheer them up.

Luckily, the flat lived up to their expectations of life in Australia.

Let's have a wee look.

-This is nice.

-Wow!

-It's huge, isn't it?

-It's not half!

Look at the TV!

It was the TV that caught my imagination as well.

I could see me happy here.

Right here. Beer in hand. I didn't expect this.

In the UK, James and Naomi live in Stevenson near Glasgow.

They bought their house in 2006

for just under £100,000,

but they knew their finances would be stretched

to afford their dream home in Australia.

I don't know if we're living in cloud cuckoo land just now

-but we'll be looking at a big house.

-Four bedrooms, detached house.

With two bathrooms, a driveway, with a garage and a small pool.

I don't ask for much.

With the Boyds expecting to have a budget of around £115,000,

we showed them three very different properties,

to give them an idea of what Darwin had to offer.

Property one was a two-bedroom, one bathroom semi-detached

in the suburb of Brinkin. Despite being within their budget,

in 2009,

they weren't convinced this was worth leaving the UK for.

It's the open plan, what I wanted.

I envisioned just a slightly bigger...

It's a fair old sized bedroom.

-Do you think?

-I do, aye.

It's a good size room for one, for one child, but not for two children.

This'll be the master bedroom, then, eh?

It is smaller than we've got back home, but...

I'd want another bedroom... Actually, I'd want another two bedrooms.

-It's just not...

-Definitely not.

-Not going to be for us.

I'd like a wee bit bigger.

God, I'm just for saying, "I want this, I want that." So demanding.

You'd want it a bit bigger?

You have to come out the bedroom, to get out the back door.

If you had people over for a barbecue, you'd all be traipsing through the bedroom,

which I don't like the idea of that.

I imagined all Australian houses to be really big and it's a bit of a shock that it is that small.

It's nice, but a lot smaller than I imagined it would be.

Yeah, I think I've got an image in my head of what I'm looking for and this just isn't it.

So far, they were disappointed at how little their money would buy

Would property two be more up their street?

This three-bedroom house in nearby Durack was larger

and a bit more expensive at £200,000.

This certainly had them both excited about their future in Australia.

-Do you like this, Kieren?

-Yeah.

-This is nice, isn't it?

This is really nice, isn't it?

Take a wee look down here, Kieren.

It's got everything you need and there's the double wardrobe as well.

This is exactly what I have been talking about. I like this.

Oh, this is a garden, isn't it?

-Oh, James, look.

-This is just an added bonus.

-Look at that.

-I could move in here, no bother.

It's just perfect. There's a big barbecuing space there too.

-You and this barbecue, oh!

-It's just part of it.

Aye, I could picture us quite happily being here.

Although I really want to do this, it's going to take a special house to kind of tempt me.

That's what I've said. There's no point in doing it if we're not going to get

the full package. The house has got to be an important part of it, and this...

It's just that the whole area just looks so safe and secure and, like you say, peaceful, quiet.

With them both won over by the property,

it seemed they were on their way to finding their dream home.

Property three in Palmerston was a glamorous but unusual four-bed house on stilts

with most of the rooms upstairs. At around £270,000

in 2009, it was outside

their budget. They would both have to work full-time

to be able to aspire to this dream property.

-What do you think?

-Wow!

-It's gorgeous, isn't it?

Aye. I could see myself living here.

This is the kind of size I was hoping for most definitely.

-It's huge.

-It's a nice big room as well.

Could fit your double bed in here, no bother.

Eh? It's another great big bedroom, isn't it?

-They're all good sized rooms, aren't they?

-They are.

They were both impressed at first, but it turned out

this was only one person's idea of a dream house.

I didn't want a house that was up in the air,

an upstairs/downstairs house.

For me, what I'm looking for is a all in one bungalow-type house.

It's not the image I've had of my dream house.

It's not. I know I'm really too fussy.

This is what I imagined an Australian house to be.

This is my kind of house.

Look at the size of that pool.

One thing you really was a great big pool Look at that.

-That would be good.

-That would be good.

-Oh, look.

-It's sold to you then.

It's absolutely stunning, it's just not my kind of house at all.

I don't like the fact it's up on stilts.

I want everything to be down on the ground, I want the kids to play

and I can supervise them, whereas if I were upstairs

I couldn't do that.

The pool's not blocked off from the grass

so the kids couldn't play here on their own.

This house would be absolutely ideal for me.

This has got everything that I could ever want.

It's a nice, big modern house.

Who's not going to want a swimming pool like this and a bar next to it?

This is just everything I imagined in a house.

James was truly struck by the third house

but Naomi was far from convinced,

leaving her in turmoil over the move.

I don't want to have something I'm not completely happy with.

To move to the opposite side of the world

there's no point in doing it by half. There's no point coming here

if you won't get that dream life.

The dream house has got to be able that so...very important.

They've seen three different houses

that have split the family about where they'd want to live.

The first property was a massive disappointment.

The second was a bit pricey but ticked all the boxes

and though the third property was James's dream house,

Naomi wasn't convinced. Would the vote for property in the UK

versus Australia leave them divided or united?

Based on what we've seen today, our vote goes to...

Australia.

-UK.

-Australia.

-So...UK? Really?

-None of them have been outstanding.

In my eyes, number two would probably be the best house.

It was great, but it was still only three bedrooms, so I don't see the point

in coming way over here just to have exactly what we've got back home.

I think, to be honest, the last one was amazing.

We're never going to get a pool at our back door in the UK.

-No, I know, but...

-Just, we're never going to have an opportunity like that.

The Boyds have very different ideas of a dream house.

As the week passed, the reality of living Down Under drove them

even further apart.

He's going to find it a lot harder than he thinks he is.

He puts on this brave face and says no, it'll be find this is what he really wants

but I do think he's going to struggle.

Possibly, he's going to find it the hardest of us all.

Back in Scotland, Naomi worked as a mental health nurse.

As the main income earner, she was anxious about her career prospects

in Australia.

There is a lot of opportunties for a mental health nurse,

particularly in some of their state hospitals.

One of my biggest fears, though,

is over there they have different legislation.

'They've got a different style of nursing over there

'so it's quite scary to think I'd be starting from fresh.

Keen to allay fears about starting her career in Australia,

Naomi had arranged some work experience in Darwin's main mental health unit.

I just want a job that is going to challenge me.

I want something that will keep me on my toes and allow me to learn every single day,

so I'm quite apprehensive about going in and starting a new job,

because it'll be like I'm a newly qualified nurse again starting off from scratch.

-Why don't you come through and I'll show you around?

-That's great.

After you.

So just come through here and I'll show you some of the more common medications that we use.

You're probably familiar with this medication.

-We've got a few people on that.

-It's used around the world.

It's one of the newer atypical anti-psychotic medications.

-You'll be very familiar with them when you come out here.

-That makes it a bit easier, I suppose.

As the main child carer, James's concern was to make sure

the children settled quickly, so he could start work in Australia.

Once we've found somewhere to live,

I'd like to spend time getting the house sorted out,

spend some time with the kids and make sure we get them settled

before I start looking properly at my career again, I think.

The little playgroup gave him the chance

to see what was available for the children.

-Nice to meet you. I'm James.

-I'm Marie.

-Nice to meet you.

-How are you?

-Good, thanks.

Is it quite often that everyone meets up like this?

We have the playgroup every week, every Friday afternoon, so there's playgroups

that run all week, any time of the day, whether morning or afternoon.

-I'll introduce you to a couple of the girls.

-Fantastic, thank you.

Bridget, I'd like to introduce James.

-Nice to meet you. I'm James.

-With the kids quickly finding their feet

James was relieved that being a house hubby might not be so lonely.

Exactly the same as me. I'm a home dad,

my girlfriend's a full-time nurse

so it's exactly the same.

I only work once or twice a week on Sunset Cruise boats.

A situation like that is absolutely ideal.

Everyone was really chatty, really friendly and helpful. Just great.

Naomi had to tackle the thorny subject of pay.

With James worried about their money situation,

it was crucial her job paid enough to cover the bills,

otherwise the dream was over.

Could you tell me a bit about the pay you get over here

-for nurses?

-Because nurses are in demand in Australia,

the pay is pretty reasonable. Depending on your experience, you can earn

between 60,000, up to 100,000/120,000 a year for the senior positions

in admin and management.

With the salary of between £30,000 and £60,000 and job opportunities,

it looked promising for Naomi. How did she vote on job prospects?

Will she carry on nursing in the UK or Down Under in Australia?

Based on the work experience and meeting Steve and everybody else at the centre, my vote goes to...

Australia.

Although Naomi was being won over by Australia,

James was having huge doubts that would put the move at risk.

James has been having a difficult time of it, really, to be honest with you.

He was the one who obviously initiated this all them years ago,

but it's me who's more been pushing lately for us to get over here.

Now he's here, I think he's kind of stuck between being really excited

and thinking, yeah, this could be a reality,

but then ever so often, he thinks, "What about this? And what about that?"

It's normally me with a sensible head, but it's him who's taken over that.

I think it's a bit of a struggle for him at the moment.

If James changes his mind and says, no, he doesn't want to,

then I really, honest to God, don't know where that would leave us.

I don't.

In the UK, the Boyds own a three-bedroom house on the coast near Glasgow.

It had been on the market for £115,000 for quite some time,

but it hadn't sold. In 2009, We sent two estate agents around to find out its value.

The Boyds knew that what they were about to watch

was crucial to realising their Australian dream.

It looks dead dreary.

A good-sized lounge, front and rear facing. That's good, plenty of light.

It has everything that a family needs.

Don't open the cupboards!

Oh, God, she is going into the cupboards.

Good-sized double bedroom. Good-sized second bedroom.

Bathroom's OK size.

'Not too bad. A little bit dated.'

I think the property's well proportioned. It's in good condition, good selling order.

The only problem I would say would be that there are quite a few similar properties on the market.

85 should be a quick sale price.

90? I think it stands a good chance to achieve that price.

If we're looking to move this one on very quickly, then £85,000

would be a very realistic price.

No. No way. No way.

You wouldn't have said that a year ago.

A year ago our property would have sold for £115,000, and fair do's, it's the recession and...

-But a £30,000 of a drop, not a chance.

-No.

-We bought it for more than that, so we'll lose on it as it is.

-We're already losing all our equity.

After the crushing news that their house was worth less than they'd thought,

they had to do some serious sums

to see if this move to Australia was even possible.

-We can see if it's feasible just on your wage.

-Just on my wage, and then we can add in yours.

-If we need that at the end.

-See, I've got something in my head. It's around about 200.

-No!

-Maybe just...

-No, no. This is working out...

-That's expensive.

-..almost twice as much as we pay back home.

-Your insurance is expensive.

So yeah, we're £650 a month at the moment for our mortgage back home,

so that would be looking at £1,000 a month for our mortgage.

So we're £350 worse off then.

Which isn't great, but there you go!

-It's not that. It's something that we've not really thought much about yet.

-That's a lot of tax to pay.

A lot of tax. 10,000 quid a year?!

Which means my money is going to be less than I initially thought.

-No, that's double. It's double out here.

-Double what I'm paying at the moment.

-That's private medical.

-I'm only want to do this for a wee while until I settle. I want to work full time.

-I don't want you to.

-I think I would eventually go mad if I was a stay-at-home dad constant. I think I would need to work.

-Mm.

I'm just shocked. I honestly didn't expect this.

To me, it's a risk worth taking if, at the end of the day, we get to live over here.

Naomi and James were really hit hard by the true costs of living Down Under

It looked as if the move would be too much of a financial strain.

With so much uncertainty, how did they vote?

So after looking at the facts and figures and the cost of things

in Australia and the cost of living, our vote is...

-UK.

-Australia.

I ken you'd say that.

And on top of their financial worries about moving to Australia,

Naomi's plan to be the main breadwinner had them at loggerheads with each other.

'Naomi, to be honest, has this grand plan that I'm going to be a permanent'

live-at-home husband if we can get away with it financially and it's just not going to happen.

'I don't see any point in making a big, huge change, coming halfway across the world, basically,'

to just have the same life when me and James are working opposite shifts. We don't see the kids.

-'The kids are with a childminder. I don't want to do that.

-Naomi would love me to be there

'to constantly see to the kids,

'to have their meals ready, and she knows I'm a clean freak, so she knows the house would always be spotless,'

but it's just not going to happen that way at all. It couldn't happen that way.

'It is going to be hard for him, and I've said this umpteen times. He'll find it harder than he thinks.'

He puts on this brave face and says, "No, it will be fine. It will be OK once we get there," but I do think

he's going to struggle with it and I think, possibly, he's going to find it the hardest out of us all.

'I didn't sleep last night for worrying about this because

'I've only told Naomi so far I'm upset at things being a lot more expensive

'than I thought they were initially. She doesn't even know

'I'm having major doubts yet. She knows I'm on the fence,

'but I don't think she realises how much this has really shocked me.'

This scares me because I've instigated it

and I've built everybody's hopes up, and I might shatter the lot.

In 2009, ahead of making their final decision,

we showed the Boyds some heartfelt messages from their loved ones back home.

Hi, Naomi. Hi, James.

Hello, Naomi and James.

James is a great boy. We never had a minute's worry with him.

He's a brilliant father. Family orientated, too.

Very cheeky. Very sarcastic humour, but just...

so endearing that you can't help but like her.

I think I'll really miss her if she's not here when I have my baby.

I don't want to start crying!

When she said it would be a better life, I was agreeable with it.

I think it's the right thing to do.

Cliff said to me, "You'll have to save your money and we'll go and see her."

But I don't know whether I'll be able to or not.

I've got very mixed emotions, to be honest.

On the one hand, I think it will be a great new life for them and I would never do anything to hold them back,

but at the same time I know I'm going to miss them.

Part of me wants to say, "Yes" and the other part, "No" because we'll miss them. Sorry.

But for them, I think it's the right thing.

Remember, we're always here for you.

Whatever you decide, it's down to you so put that flag whatever way you want it to go.

I do miss you.

I've thought about this for a long, long time.

I've sat everywhere thinking about this. I'm missing yous big time,

Kieren and Dylan.

I hope you like Australia, and if you do...

..I wouldn't be happy to lose you, but I'd be glad if it's going to be a different life for you.

I'll miss you, but you keep in touch now.

Don't cry, Nana.

You know we're going to miss you all, we wish you all the best.

And we know whatever decision yous make, it will be the right one for yous.

We love you all.

Was that hard?

My mum and my dad are usually a bit of a closed book.

To see them upset like that, it's not something that I will see often.

I don't think seeing people upset would stop me going because

I think, in their heart of hearts, they would want us to come here.

I don't want any of them getting upset. I suppose it's unavoidable.

It hits me the most about my nana to be honest with you because I don't think I'll see her.

I'm sorry, I keep crying.

She's upset. >

After a week of so many challenges,

the Boyds still had a lot of problems to overcome.

Each one had different ideas of where they would like to live.

Their financial plans looked to be in trouble and job prospects had them arguing over their future.

James has been so hard to read. I thought I knew what was going on in his head.

Obviously I've not got a clue. I really couldn't say which way he is going to vote.

The place hasn't failed to disappoint. It's gorgeous.

The life outside our working commitments looks fantastic

and everything that I ever imagined for myself and my family,

it just looks terrific.

It's the hardest decision we've had to make in our lives.

We're talking about uprooting the kids away from their families, from their friends, from their school,

from everything they know. This is such a hard decision.

I wouldn't get to see my friends ever again, but I'll make new friends, for sure.

It was time for the final vote and the family was in turmoil about making the move.

Their entire future hung on this decision,

so which way did they vote? Stay in the UK or relocate to the other side of the world?

We've been in Australia for a week, we've got to experience the lifestyle, jobs and houses.

So, based on that, our vote goes to...

-..Australia.

-Australia.

UK.

I think we should start a, "We hate Daddy club", what do you think?

Yeah, maybe we should.

-I didn't know how to say to yous that this is what I was kinda leaning towards.

-What is your reasons for it?

I don't know that we can come here and comfortably live.

I think we came this far. We would be absolutely stupid,

and we'd always regret it if we didn't try it.

I just don't know if we could afford to come now.

I'm definitely not staying where I live, at all, so either way we will be moving away from there.

The whole move had been driven by James after he'd convinced Naomi their future was in Australia.

However, the week down under completely changed his mind.

But with Naomi won over by Australia, it created a lot of tension between them.

I'm sure Naomi is going to mind me telling you this, and she doesn't know that I'm about to,

but that wasn't the most comfortable car journey back there since I made my decision!

I've got to say in my defence though, for ten years, you kept saying to me, "Let's move abroad."

When I eventually decide to say, "Oh, OK, we'll give it a shot,"

you change your mind and say, "Let's not bother moving abroad."

So I think I'm entitled to be a little bit peeved about that.

To me, just the way I have been feeling the last couple of days,

I thought it was obvious how I would probably vote.

I suppose you can still shock me. I suppose that's one good thing.

A lot of people think, we pack up and move off somewhere nice, but it is not that easy.

There's a lot of things to take into account.

So this is a scenario I was hoping to avoid.

In 2009, the Boyds were split between whether they should stay in the UK or move to Australia.

Naomi had good job prospects and had fallen for the lifestyle.

James, despite having driven the move, had serious doubts.

So where in the world are they?

Three months later, they were still in Scotland.

The decision to stay in the UK had put a lot of strain on their relationship.

When we came back from Australia,

James had decided to vote for the UK.

It did cause a bit of tension because I was quite annoyed that James had got us going over there,

to see if that was the life we wanted to lead,

getting us all excited about it and then to turn round and say he didn't want to go. I was annoyed about it.

When we got back, we had to sit down to see if we even wanted the same things.

You think you know somebody and then, suddenly...

When we made our final vote on Australia, I chose the UK

because I just felt far more comfortable knowing how everything works here.

I'd suddenly realised how big this move was and what effect this could have on all of our lives

and also all the family and friends.

There was a lot of things that really worried me and it took me right out my comfort zone.

I didn't want to go over there and it to be half-hearted.

If you're going to make this huge decision, what's the point if you're not going to be fully happy?

No point uprooting the kids from everything they know...

Moving to the other side of the world, we want to be 100% sure.

Although they had been divided about moving to Australia,

the Boyds were still determined to move out of the area. They had kept their house on the market.

In Australia, we watched the estate agents' valuation DVD

and they said we'd need to drop the price to 85,000,

which I was rather miffed about.

I was upset when I heard them saying this was all my house was worth.

But, as it turns out, they were right and, in this current climate, that is all it's worth.

I feel a bit of an idiot because we sold it for 85,000 two months later.

Once they sold their house, James had another change of heart.

At the moment, we're still here in sunny Scotland

and, after a few months of talking about it and our house selling,

we've decided to make the leap and move to Perth.

After talking about it, we decided we're going to make a new life wherever we go,

so why not just go for it, right enough?

Once we'd decided where we wanted to go, I got in touch with some recruitment consultants

and I got offered a job at a psychiatric hospital in Perth.

They agreed to sponsor me on a four-year temporary business visa.

I've had to rush lots and lots in to a really short space of time.

-It's been hard going.

-We've just had to keep pushing through it.

At last, it seemed the Boyds' dream to move to Australia was going to happen. But at the last minute,

they were hit by some terrible news.

Everything was going fine until a week ago. We were all content,

living in our little bubble. But, within a week and a half,

everything has just went completely upside down.

You don't realise just how quickly it can all go wrong.

I'm waiting for a hospital procedure and possibly an operation.

And if this happens, I'm looking at going out to Australia in four to six months' time

and we do need Naomi to go over and start her job before the offer gets taken off her.

We're now left with the decision, if the possibility occurs that James does need surgery,

we might not be able to go over there as a family.

And if we don't go over as a family, I've got to go on ahead on my own

or I have to sacrifice the job and our possible only route to get into Australia,

unless we apply for a permanent visa. But that's years away and I don't think we could wait that long.

If I want this job, which I really do, I'll need to go ahead.

But I don't know if I can really do that. What mother would leave her children?

And I couldn't leave my husband knowing he had to undergo surgery. It's a bit of a predicament.

I don't know what's going to happen.

I think Naomi is going to have to go on ahead to Australia.

It's something I don't want to happen and she doesn't want it to happen.

I don't think she realised until recently that this was real.

The Boyds were up for moving to Australia, but would Naomi have to take the long flight on her own

and leave James and the children to come later after his surgery?

In the end, the Boyds managed to make the journey in January 2010,

altogether as a family.

It's not been an easy journey but we're here now so we'll see

how it all goes. Hopefully, it'll be perfect! Ask me in a few weeks!

-All very, very tired and ready to go to bed.

-Absolutely shattered. Really am tired.

Like many people who emigrate to Australia, the Boyds had decided to rent before buying a house.

As they arrived at their temporary home in Perth,

they were relieved to be starting their new life together, with James's health scare behind them.

For a few weeks, it was horrible.

We didn't know what we were doing, absolutely horrendous.

We pestered the hospital and they gave us a cancellation and James had the procedure done

and they decided surgery is not required at the moment. They can manage it with medication.

So we just decided to book the flights, not to chance it any more and just get over there.

I'm still unsure about it all. I've been chopping and changing my mind over the last fortnight.

One day I'm wanting to come, the next day not.

I've not been happy with the life we've had back home and that's why I instigated this,

but the closer this has got and I realise we are leaving behind friends and family,

it's starting to really kick in and I've had big, big doubts with it.

But here we are because... I did instigate it.

I did vote to remain in the UK, but I'm not that selfish that I would hold everybody else back.

I'm willing to give it a go. The plan is that we'll give it a few years

and, fingers crossed, all's going to go well

but, if it doesn't, we'll go back to what we know in the UK.

We caught up with the Boyds five months later.

For Naomi, the move had hinged on her being happy with her job.

Fortunately, it seems she's really got her teeth into it.

Hi, there, how are yous? Is it OK to come through and get a file?

Over here, the ward that I'm in, it's just purely nursing staff

and it's acute adult mental health problems.

We have a range of people between the age of 18 to about 55.

Some people can be with us for a few days, others can be for weeks.

You have a constant turnaround of patients which means different challenges.

To me, coming here and coming into a job which I'm really enjoying

and working with people that I enjoy coming to work with has been great.

It's helped me to settle so much better because this is

a piece of security for me. It helps me so much having a job I enjoy.

While Naomi is bringing home the bacon and Kieren is at school, James is looking after Dylan.

The new rental house has brought a smile to James's face.

We really fancied somewhere nice and spacious

and we knew within seconds of looking at it, just with the size of the house and the size of the garden.

I know most of the houses here are a lot bigger typically than what you would find in the UK,

but this house itself, just the whole look and the feel to it, I love the set-up,

I love having the bedrooms through one side and having the lounge and the games room.

This is a living room, dining area, kitchen.

All of these rooms were totally separate in our old house.

The space is just massive.

We've got acres of space to play with.

Something we've never had, but we've got a pantry for our food.

Instead of having cupboards crammed together on our walls, we just put everything in here

and it keeps the kitchen nice and free to walk around. Love it.

James had hoped to quickly find a job and get his career back on track.

However, as a house husband, he's not enjoying his life down under.

It's not been great for James. He's struggled with it.

He's not working and because of the shift work I do, it's meant we've struggled to find childcare.

So that has caused a lot of tension

and it's made his transition to Australia a lot more difficult.

It did come to a head and we felt the best thing might have been

for the two of us to separate because we were just arguing.

It just got too much and we were arguing quite a lot and we didn't want the boys to see that

so we decided to call it a day, but we've decided to get back together and give it another try.

I had this idea that we were going to move out here and everything would fall into place - we'd both get jobs.

Obviously, nobody comes straight to a job, but I thought that I would

and that we'd all settle really well and it would be plain sailing,

but it's been totally different from what I had imagined.

I'm finding it a lot harder than I'd expected to settle.

While she's out doing the job, I'm dealing with everything in the house. Once Naomi comes home, typically,

I'll go to the shops, do a bit of shopping, come back up and get ready to do it all again the next day.

Basically, with me being at home all the time, I'm not getting out to meet people

and have a bit of a social life. I really feel quite isolated.

I feel guilty because he's not settling, he's stuck in the house with the kids. It's been difficult.

The situation is what it is

and rather than getting worked up about it, I'll let things flow and we'll see what happens.

I'm not going to get too stressed. I don't need a job for money,

it would just be nice to have that wee bit extra play money

and it would be nice to go out and meet friends.

Although James and Naomi are divided on how they feel about Australia,

the kids are definitely happy with their new life.

The boys are settling in really well.

Kieren especially. Making lots of friends. He's having a ball here.

It's a better life cos I get to go out with my friends. In Scotland,

I never got to go out and play cos it was always raining.

That was my biggest reason for wanting to move abroad - to give the kids a better life.

Seeing them happy, it does make me happy.

Whenever I've had a bad day at work and I come in and the two of them just run and give you cuddles.

It just makes everything worthwhile. Definitely.

The Boyds do have a webcam to keep in touch with family and friends.

But they're still struggling with being so far away from loved ones.

It's hard to take sometimes.

We moved out here to try to better our lives

but a lot of people back home are really upset because we're not there.

We were a really, really close family when we lived there

and we all lived within a very short distance of one another

so we done a lot of things together.

I remember breaking down in tears because I can't get in touch when I want to any more.

It doesn't get easier, just... I'm just getting a bit more used to it now.

Naomi has found it particularly difficult leaving her grandmother behind.

My Nana is in all my best memories.

There wasn't anything she wasn't there for. She supported me through so much, and she still does.

Every decision I make, she's always somebody I'd ask

and she always supports me, so... I miss her a lot. I really do.

It's been a turbulent move for all of them, but Naomi and the children have settled quickly.

Part of me wants to make it work so much.

Already, I can't see myself going back to the UK.

Aside from our problems, everything else is brilliant. It is.

The kids are happy, James is mainly happy...

I'm happy. So it's just... a totally different life to what we had back in Scotland.

I don't want to go back to that.

But, at the end of the day...

if James decides he wants to go back, then...

I can't turn round and say I'm not going.

James has struggled with his new life, even though he was the one who originally wanted to move here.

Now feeling unhappy, is he about to give up his dream again?

The grand plan is that I'm going to muck in at this for at least another few months.

I'll just have to try and find a job that'll give me hours to work round the childcare.

We've got a lease on a house for another few months yet

so I really want to give it a good bash and see how we go.

But if it's not working out in another few months,

I think I'll have to speak to the family about packing up and moving back.

But that's the worst case scenario and I'd rather that didn't happen. But I've got to be realistic.

If I'm still as miserable, I don't see the point in being here.

We came for a better life, so...

Naomi and the boys have thrown themselves into their new life.

However, James has had major doubts.

It's time for them to make their final vote.

Will the Boyds choose to stay or pack their bags and head back to Scotland?

We've been living in Perth for a short time now and we've had our fair share of ups and downs.

Despite that, we're going to make a decision and vote for where we see ourselves in the immediate future.

Here in Perth, or back in sunny Scotland. Our decision is...

-Australia.

-Australia.

-Australia.

James and Naomi have made the hardest decision of their lives.

Although it's still early days, they're well on their way to making

a new and improved life in Australia for themselves and their boys.

Join us again when we catch up with another family on Wanted Down Under Revisited.