Guile Wanted Down Under Revisited

If your job meant hardly seeing your family,

the grass might look a lot greener down under.

In 2009, the Guile family spent a week in New Zealand

to see if their dream of a better future could be made real.

Today, we're catching up with them to find out where they are now

and if they've found what they were looking for.

Pub landlord Simon Guile and his wife Claire

have been thinking about emigrating to New Zealand for an easier life with their girls.

About six months ago we decided what we were doing was destroying the family

and, the children were growing up without, without seeing me and vice versa.

You know, if Simon didn't run a busy pub any more, he would have more time to spend with us,

and the idea of emigrating to New Zealand just meant that we'd have more time.

But seven-year-old Izzy didn't understand why they couldn't spend time together at home.

We could do that in England because he could get another job.

Do you dislike New Zealand or you don't like the idea of living in New Zealand?

Just don't like New Zealand.

And when they did their sums New Zealand wasn't so appealing?

It's not as simple as having a dream and you know, "Oh, let's do it,

"let's have an adventure."

We visit them one year on to find out how things have changed for the Guiles.

In 2009, the Guile family were faced

with one of the biggest decisions of their lives -

whether to leave their home and loved ones

for a new start on the other side of the world in New Zealand.

Simon and Claire Guile lived with their three girls,

ten-year-old Holly, seven-year-old Izzy, and new baby Amelie,

in the pretty village of Hurst near Reading,

and are thinking about moving 12,000 miles away to start a new life in New Zealand.

Well, for years we've talked about adventure and doing something new, haven't we?

And even at university we used to discuss places we'd like to go

and places we'd like to live and it was always dreams, wasn't it?

Simon had been running his own pub for 11 years.

He'd made it into a successful business, but he worked long hours

and has very little time to spend with Claire and the children.

The most poignant moment in the last year has been

Holly saying to Claire that they're almost like a single-parent family because I'm always here.

That really caused me to sit up and think, "Well, I'm going to miss all her childhood."

We don't have much family time because Daddy's always working

and we only see him at dinner usually.

We don't see him much.

I wish it was different because it would be way better because then we'd be able to see him more.

Now the pub's lease was up and he needed to decide

whether to stay on for another three years or make the move down under.

The opportunities start in New Zealand and to not be Simon, pub landlord, is quite exciting.

But not everyone in the Guile family shared Simon's passion to make the move.

Isobel's really not keen, really doesn't want to go to New Zealand at all.

We really value their opinions, don't we?

And she knows that we would never do anything big that they didn't want to do.

Mummy won't go because I don't want to go

and then Holly won't go because I don't want to go.

I can visit it and see what it's like.

I'll definitely give it a try.

I just don't want...

But Izzy wasn't alone.

Although Claire wanted to support Simon,

New Zealand felt like a step too far.

Something my mum said was, um, "We'd never see you again.

"Because it's such a long journey and such a lot of money, we might not EVER see you again."

Simon would go tomorrow, the girls could possibly be persuaded

and I'd love the idea of it,

but the thought of not EVER seeing someone again is pretty scary.

It was a tough decision.

Would the prospect of being able to spend more time together as a family

tempt them into making the move down under?

The journey took them more than 12,000 miles

across three continents,

and they arrive 24 hours later in Auckland.

And, surprisingly, they are looking rather chirpy.

Looking forward to seeing what the country's got to offer us -

job opportunities, houses, and activities we can all do together

and looking for a change of lifestyle, so really exciting.

We're all excited.

It was a good thing the family were feeling rested

because they had a jam-packed week ahead of them in Auckland.

Wow, look at this.

-SAT NAV:

-You have reached your destination.

The family's base for the week was this modern house

in the coastal suburb of Red Beach, 15 miles from Auckland.

Oh, look at that window.

My goodness. It's like in the films.

-What do you think?

-Doesn't look real.

First impressions were good

but Claire and Simon knew exactly who would need to be convinced if the move was to become a reality.

Even they've been quite speechless walking into this property

so we will just see.

You know, we'll be here by the beach,

they might really love it and want to stay forever.

We're going to cram as much in as we can,

see as much as we can and do lots of activities

and just have a fun time together

and, you know, if it all clicks it clicks.

Back in the UK, Simon, Claire and the girls

lived in a four-bedroom cottage

in the pretty village of Hurst in Berkshire.

They had hoped to raise £165,000 in equity from the sale...

..and had a budget of up to £220,000

to spend on a potential New Zealand home.

We showed them three properties

to give them an idea of the cost of New Zealand houses.

First up was a four-bedroom detached house

in a quiet cul-de-sac in Snells Beach.

It was on the market for £187,000,

so well within budget.

Scottish estate agent, Beth,

showed them round.

So it's a total family package, it's good value.

It's four bedrooms, you've got your fenced yard.

It's got nice outlook from the decks,

you can see right across to the end of Snells Beach.

This is where everybody comes on holidays,

so it's great to live in a place that everyone comes on holidays.

You don't need to sit in traffic to get here.

That was everything they needed to know so it was on to tour the house.

One of the double bedrooms here.

As you can see, it's quite a large bedroom, good for older kids.

-It is quite big.

-They've got built-in wardrobe as well.

Got another one of the rooms here. It's a little bit smaller.

Down the corridor was a tiny baby room and the master bedroom.

-Oh, that's big, isn't it?

-Yeah. It has en suite as well.

-It's a massive bedroom too.

-It is a big bedroom.

Simon didn't seem convinced by the house

and there was just the garden left to see.

The house was £33,000 under budget

and would leave them virtually mortgage-free

but what did they think?

It looks quite nice from the outside,

but it reminds me a bit of a caravan.

Moving this far out of the city doesn't really appeal to us.

We like to be more near the centre of things.

They weren't bowled over by this house.

If Claire and Simon were going to find a home that met all their needs,

they would have to spend more.

The next house was a much larger four-bedroom property

set in the valley of Arkles Bay.

It was just 20 miles from central Auckland

and this was reflected in the £240,000 price tag.

£20,000 over budget.

Right, this is the main living area here.

You can see it opens out onto the deck out here.

It's open plan, all the tiled areas have got underfloor heating.

-Oh, lovely.

-So you put that on.

The house had an upside-down design with the living space and master bedroom on the first floor.

The master bedroom, it's got the large ranch slider

that opens out and you have a look at the bush out there and...

It's got a lovely outlook.

This house had a lot more going for it than the first

but did the Guiles like it?

It's not cosy, is it?

It's a good living space,

-but we'd rather have less living space and more money.

-Yeah.

So not the right home for then girls.

Would the last house have space they wanted without the big price tag?

Just five minutes away was this four-bedroom detached modern home.

It had all they were looking for

and was on the market for £200,000, so just under budget.

But was it the right home for them?

So you've got your kitchen-dining lounge area down here.

The property is facing north.

Lovely open plan aspect, isn't it?

The thing about this property,

no-one is looking in on you, you're looking out.

-Yeah.

-There's a feeling of space.

-Quite elevated, aren't you?

Yeah, from all the rooms it's quite a good outlook.

Just like the last house, this also had an upside-down design

to take advantage of the views.

Outside, there was a decked area which was a popular feature of Kiwi homes

and offered a bird's-eye view of the neighbourhood.

We've got this wraparound deck here. It's just built for the sun.

Up there and down to your left.

-Really good for entertaining.

-Fantastic view.

And then you've got the undercover area here for when it's raining.

So you can still use your barbeque if you want.

That's good. Rather than standing with a brolly like you do.

Claire and Simon seemed genuinely taken by this house

but it didn't convince Izzy that New Zealand was a good move.

Do you like this house more than our house at home,

or do you prefer our house at home?

-I prefer our house.

-Do you? Why do you prefer our house?

Because it's cosy, it's small and it's... This one you feel

very small in it and in the other, in our house you feel big.

Do you? Oh. Holly, what do you think of this house?

-I think it's cool.

-Do you?

-I like it.

-What's your favourite bit?

Ah, I don't know, I like it all.

It's certainly a house we can afford, it's aspirational,

it's something we can certainly move into straightaway

and start living and there wouldn't be an awful lot to do

-other than enjoy ourselves.

-It's a very appealing thought.

Which is certainly what we're trying to achieve with moving.

-I wouldn't move here.

-No.

-If I had the choice.

No. OK.

They found a great house and it was within budget

but, for Izzy, it didn't match their home in the UK.

How did they all vote on property?

From the three houses we saw today

I only really preferred one out of the three,

so on that thought, I'd go for UK houses.

I still prefer the traditional British property

so for that reason I'm going to go for the UK.

I'm going to vote UK.

They were too big and made you look small

so for that reason today I'm going to vote for UK.

For the Guile family, moving to the other side of the world

was all about being able to spend more time together.

For their family day out we set them a challenge -

to take a trip to North Head in Devonport

and cycle up a dormant volcano that looked across Auckland.

The move to New Zealand would really mean

that we have more time together as a family and do things like today.

Simon and the children just love being together.

The girls love it because Daddy's a bit more adventurous than Mummy

and does more dangerous things and they just think it's great.

OK? Ready to go?

They shine when we're all together.

They're much happier and it just shows.

You can see for miles and miles and miles, can't you?

It just looks too perfect.

This is just stunning sitting here in this beautiful...hump.

What is it?

-It's a volcano.

-It's a volcano. Sitting here...

It's not going to go off, don't worry.

It's just added another dimension to our thoughts.

It's a bit like going through therapy the last couple of days

because you know we don't really spend time together

-discussing what's going on in our lives.

-No.

Life just sort of drags us along

and it's been quite nice to sort of step back and slow down

and I think that's what we could actually find we could do here,

we could slow down. That's what we're hoping would be the case.

In the UK, Claire and the girls often had to go on day trips

and even holidays without Simon, due to his work commitments.

And it was days like this that reminded everyone

what they'd been missing out on.

I'd like Daddy to be around more and see us more

instead of just, like, just for dinner and stuff.

-When we do things as a family...

-Yeah.

You like that, don't you? But it doesn't happen very often, does it?

It's just we don't have the time, do we?

-Yeah. Because Daddy's always working.

-Yeah.

Seeing his children happy brought home

just why Simon wanted to make the move.

It's quite emotional, really. I know there's a strength of feeling

there from them and they want to spend more time with me

and it does sort of tell me that we're striving to do the right thing.

But Izzy still didn't understand why the changes in lifestyle

couldn't be made at home in the UK.

We could do that in England because he could get another job.

What about living by the seaside, Iz? Do you like that?

I don't really, really care because you can do stuff at home.

Do you actually dislike New Zealand or you just don't like the idea of living here?

-Don't like New Zealand.

-If you came here for a holiday, would you like it?

If we were just here on holiday and we weren't looking at houses

and were just doing nice things, would you enjoy it?

-No, I don't like it.

-No?

-I just don't like New Zealand.

I think that she doesn't dislike New Zealand,

she just doesn't want to move here and doesn't want to admit it.

If we come out here and he does a different job

which doesn't involve working

when we're not at school or anything,

then, yeah, it could be worth coming out here.

Holly could see the benefits of moving to New Zealand

but there was still work to be done before Izzy could be persuaded to make the move.

They'd had the opportunity to spend the day together

so how did they vote on lifestyle?

If living in New Zealand affords me a lifestyle

where I can see Claire and the children a lot more

then that's all good for me so an easy decision, New Zealand.

I think this one just has to be New Zealand.

I really enjoyed it because we could spend more time with Daddy

so for that reason I'm voting New Zealand.

I enjoyed it with Daddy but, um, he could get another job in the UK.

We could do that in the UK, so I'm voting New Zealand.

They've convinced Izzy!

-Only joking. UK.

-Or maybe not.

Back in the UK, Simon owned and ran a successful pub business.

He paid himself a salary of between £50,000 and £70,000 a year.

But it came at a cost.

He worked on average 65 hours a week

and got very little quality time with the family.

For some time he'd dreamt of pursuing his ambition of working on

and eventually owning his own vineyard.

Claire could work part-time teaching and Simon's career change

could allow him to spend more time with the family.

We arranged for them to meet a New Zealand wine maker.

Simon needed to find out if his dream could become a reality.

And they were given a traditional Maori welcome.

HE BLOWS CONCH SHELL

# Toia mai I te waka

# Ki te urunga Te waka

# Ki te moenga Te waka

# Ki te takotoranga Te waka! #

Hi. Simon.

The hongi was the traditional Maori greeting.

After exchanging their life breath,

the stranger is then considered a person of the land.

-Hello, Simon.

-Hi.

-Hello, Claire.

-Hello.

-Hello, family.

Welcome to New Zealand and Matakana.

Would you like to come inside now?

Mary and her husband, David,

set up their winery and restaurant 20 years ago.

Simon hoped to get advice from them before he made any decisions.

-Hello, I'm David.

-Pleased to meet you.

-Welcome to Heron's Flight.

I'm glad to be here and thanks for inviting us.

I'm very happy to show you around.

The family vineyard was spread over 15 acres

and when he bought the land in the late '80s,

he had no experience of wine making, just like Simon.

A lot of people say they want to get into the wine industry

because they like drinking wine.

-Right.

-Or because they like the romance of having a vineyard

and being able to share bottles of wine with their friends.

It's a good idea. If you don't have that, you don't want to do it, but...

-Yeah.

-You are decidedly different.

You actually have a skill in the food industry.

Why would you want to come to New Zealand, other side of the world,

and why would you want to change your occupation?

Over the last couple of years

I've thought long and hard about what I wanted to do,

and whether it's a midlife crisis or what, I don't know.

Oh, you're not old enough yet.

I don't know, we tend to have them earlier in the UK.

You wouldn't believe it.

-Because it's a dark climate. You don't get enough sun.

-Yeah.

For me, I can move to New Zealand and be virtually mortgage-free,

which will allow me to work in the wine industry on a minimum wage.

But in New Zealand, the minimum wage was £5.50 an hour.

David's vineyard manager, Justin, had over 15 years' experience

and only took home £15,000 a year.

If they made such drastic a change,

Claire would have to go back to teaching to subsidise their income.

-I would be over-romanticising it if I said it wasn't a struggle.

-No.

Because it's not very lucrative...

I would go back to teaching to support our income.

-And teaching is actually quite well paid here.

-Is it?

-And there are lots of nice schools around here.

-Yeah.

Matakana School in particular.

-Yes.

-They're always looking for good teachers.

That was great news for Claire.

She could find work easily and help Simon fulfil his dream.

But if Simon couldn't get the salary he needed,

the move would be in serious doubt.

So there's five mouths to feed in my family.

-And on a minimum wage, it would be quite difficult to make ends meet.

-Yeah.

How am I going to get into this and fast-track myself to a better salary?

Your best bet would be the bigger wineries.

They will train up people every season and they normally pay

at least a few dollars, 3 or 4 above the minimum wage.

The amount of hours you'd be putting in,

you'd end up with a reasonably decent pay packet at the end of the week.

You know, if you're in a bigger place, running a big vineyard

or something, you know, you can probably expect to earn upwards of

-50,000 or 60,000 a year.

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

-When Claire arrives I'll tell her that she's got to work full-time

because I ain't going to earn anything.

No, she'll get used to it.

-Good luck with that, Simon.

-Well, that's all right.

Although he got some questions answered,

for Simon it raised new ones.

Was Claire prepared to go back to work full-time with a ten-month-old baby?

And could they afford the lifestyle they wanted on such a small wage?

How did Simon vote on his experience of New Zealand work?

Having seen what there is involved in running and working in a vineyard,

I haven't been put off by the long hours

and potential for working weekends in harvest time.

I can negotiate around a minimum wage for a few years

and develop my winemaking skills and so my decision today is New Zealand.

Although Simon voted for New Zealand,

the girls would have to face the cost soon.

And when they did, would their dreams of a fresh start come to an end?

Simon and Claire's UK property was on the market for £350,000.

If they got their asking price, it would give them equity of 165,000,

but with Simon giving up his UK wage to start a new career,

his reduced salary might not be enough.

We've prepared a breakdown of their everyday living costs

to see if they could afford the life they wanted in New Zealand.

Look, around 32% of New Zealanders have some form of health insurance.

You have to pay up to £19 per visit to the GP.

I think you'd have to add in the health insurance, wouldn't you, as well, at £50...

Monthly shop's going to cost us another hundred quid.

Gas and electricity is half.

So what are we looking at, salary-wise?

12.50 an hour.

Well, I'd have to work full-time.

Yeah. There's £1,200 difference in terms of earnings, but...

For Claire, it's essential that they can make an annual return journey to the UK to see the family.

Return flights from New Zealand to UK...

-Yeah?

-..cost an average of £800 to £1,000 per adult.

You'd have to make provision each month.

Yeah. A sort of contingency fund.

Depending on how many times you want to go back.

If you want to go back once a year,

you've got to save £400 a month for it.

On a reduced salary that's a huge amount to find each month.

Was it possible?

What's the difference between that?

So it would leave us with £739 a month left over,

so we wouldn't really be any better off.

You couldn't take £400 a month out of that to save,

so this is telling us that even if we save £200 a month,

which would probably be difficult,

we could only return back to the UK every two or three years.

-Yeah. If that.

-And realistically, probably every five years.

Mm.

And then things really change.

Yeah.

To only see their family every few years was a massive blow.

It looked like Simon's dream was moving further and further away.

There's no point coming halfway across the world

to change your lifestyle and create more time for the family

and then have no money left.

I'd need to consider whether I follow my heart and my dream

and want to make wine or whether I, you know...

I've got to really do a bit of soul searching and decide

where my priorities are and how much I can earn doing other things.

It's not as simple as having a dream

and just, you know, "Oh, let's do it,

"let's have an adventure, let's go,"

because there's so many aspects to it you haven't considered.

If I could guarantee I could fly home once or twice,

or at least once a year and my family could fly to see me

then it wouldn't be such a scary prospect,

but looking at the figures,

we wouldn't be able to afford to go home.

It's almost a selfish decision to come here

and to remove yourself from the circles you move in at the moment

purely for your own benefit,

but, you know, we've got to think what's best for the five of us.

It seemed the promise of a better life in New Zealand

could prevent them from seeing family in the UK for years at a time.

And the prospect of being without the support of loved ones

wasn't one they could contemplate.

The Guile family were near the end of their week

and the big decision they had to make was looming.

Seeing messages from friends and family back home would only make it harder.

Hi there, everybody, especially Holly, Izzy and Amelie.

Hello.

I really, really miss you.

I hope you're having a very nice time.

I really, really want you to come back.

Hello, you lot. Big wave.

-Hi, Claire, Si.

-Hi, guys.

To actually have 50% of my family

moving to the other side of the world

is devastating to me, but having said all that,

it's an opportunity I would love them to take.

I can see why they want to do it because of, you know, um,

Simon working so hard and not seeing the family,

but I think there are other ways around it

rather than disappearing off round the other side of the world.

It's the thought that they're so far away

that gets to you more than anything else.

My main concern would be

that having made the decision to go that they don't regret it,

that they're actually making it for all the right reasons.

I hope you're having a good time and I hope you really like New Zealand,

but please, please, Claire and Simon,

just think about the long-term picture.

We just hope you enjoy yourselves and make the right decision.

I just need you to know that I love you very much

and it doesn't matter what your decision is

because I shall see you and love you just as much

whether you're in this country or New Zealand.

It will affect me and I know how it will affect Gordon,

but on a personal basis I shall just miss having them around.

Just knowing that they're there as part of the family,

they're an important part of the family and, um, I love the girls

and I've really got to know them.

Not being able to look after Amelie as well.

So, yeah, it will be hard.

Kind words, some very wise words.

Well, it's just reassuring to know your family's there for you.

I feel guilty, I think I'd feel guilty if we came,

if we took the grandchildren away from their grandparents

and the thing that I'm thinking a lot is that it's a selfish move.

To come here would be selfish.

Selfish, yes, maybe,

but we need to do what's best for us as a family and,

um, that decision's going to be a hard decision to come to, I think.

Things like this really make you realise how much they mean to you

and how much they mean to the children,

and Isobel just adores her grandparents

and her aunties and uncles and cousins.

That video was probably just a little bit too much for her to bear, really.

And I don't know if I can do that to my children.

It was the end of the Guiles' soul-searching week in Auckland.

They got to spend quality time together as a family.

Simon loved spending time on the vineyard,

but with a drastically reduced salary,

when they did their sums, the results put the whole move in doubt.

The heartache of leaving loved ones was too much for Izzy to bear.

Claire and Simon faced the hardest decision of their lives.

One moment I think, "Ooh, I could live here, it's really lovely,"

and the next moment I think, "Oh, I couldn't live this far away from my family."

I have moments like that and then I look around and it is stunning,

but I wonder if we could get that somewhere else in England.

I know for a fact that if we did move here

that we'd all embrace the lifestyle and really enjoy ourselves,

but I realise I might be fighting a losing battle.

So how did they vote?

Would the girls choose a brand new start down under?

I've had a really good time this week,

but I couldn't leave my family forever

so for that reason I'm going to vote UK.

It's nice, but I wouldn't leave my family and friends.

I might of chosen New Zealand,

but when I saw that video I thought, "Oh, no, UK."

I've had a fantastic time in New Zealand, it's a beautiful country,

the people are lovely, but I think my heart

really, really lies in the UK.

My final thoughts on the week,

New Zealand would really offer us a fantastic opportunity as a family,

with lifestyle, with work opportunities and with housing,

but instead of these flags I really need a white flag

to tie in with Claire, Holly and Isobel

and I'm going to have to join them and vote for the UK.

After adding up the emotional and financial costs,

the Guiles decided that New Zealand wasn't the answer to their problems.

But, two years on, have things changed at home

or has there been a change of heart?

It's summer 2011 and Claire and Simon with 13-year-old Holly,

nine-year-old Izzy and toddler Amelie have moved...

to Reading.

Not long after they returned from New Zealand,

they sold their cottage and are living in a new family home.

Although the family decided not to emigrate down under,

they seem to have moved on.

So what's happened since we last saw them?

The opportunity to visit New Zealand

to look at a different way of living your life

was really what we needed at the time

and it cemented our decision to change our lives

and the way we worked and saw each other.

Sometimes we joked that we were being pulled through life by our hair.

It was a really busy life

and the only way could see out of this lifestyle

was to go to New Zealand.

-We just thought, "Get away, go..."

-Start from scratch.

Start again and have a quieter, calmer life without this rushing.

The desire to move was motivated by a need

to spend more time together as a family.

So have they found that back home?

Our trip to New Zealand taught us what was important was our family.

It was like a week of therapy

and it made us realise that we needed to change considerably.

Izzy was right the whole time -

we could do the same thing in the UK and we have.

I think Mummy and Daddy wanted to go to New Zealand

just to see what it's like out there really.

And then...see if it's better there.

But I think you could just do the same things here

because they're both the same really except New Zealand has seaside

and where we live, we don't.

Although the family have found a better life without moving

halfway around the world,

it was Simon's job as a pub landlord that was preventing him

from spending time with the family.

We made a decision when we were in New Zealand

to definitely relinquish our responsibilities at the pub

and, from there on in, sold the house,

moved to this property,

then we had to change our work schedules, what we were doing,

the job I did and the hours that Claire was doing for her work,

to try and pay the bills.

If it meant making a few sacrifices of things we didn't need

like the gym membership

and all the extras that we could afford with the pub,

we thought let's just change our lives completely

so that it meant we had more family time together.

When my dad did do the pub, it was like having a single mum

and now it's like we're actually a family again. It's good.

Well, we always were.

Yeah, but not.

-We didn't see him much, did we?

-No.

SIMON: It's been brilliant for me to step into their life

and play an active part.

And, although I felt I wasn't a poor father before,

I think I've been able to play a more active role

and support more and actually understand what they do in their lives.

Claire used to tell me but I never used to see it.

It's better cos we do see him and then we can do this with him

as well because we never used to do anything with him.

We go out together on weekends and when we have dinner,

he doesn't have to rush off.

He can just stay and have some fun.

The decision they made in New Zealand

not to continue the lease on the pub

has resolved family issues

but it meant that Simon had to rethink his career.

His skills working in the pub business haven't gone to waste though.

He's landed a job working as a sales manager

for a wine and spirit company.

I've worked for my current company for 13 months now.

I'm targeted to bring on new business.

Initially I would meet a customer

and ascertain what they want from us, in terms of supply,

'whether it be wine, spirits.'

Thank you very much indeed.

I enjoy meeting new people. I enjoy working within a team.

'There's lots of people you can talk to on a day-to-day basis

'and there's help and resource.'

A week on Friday, we'll collect the direct debit.

'I work for a large company before I had my own business'

and I was on the ladder there moving up

and then decided to step off and do my own thing.

So I relish the challenge that I've got in front of me

in the next few years.

But giving up the pub business has meant a drop in Simon's salary

so Claire now has to work longer hours.

Claire's salary is fairly integral in paying the bills.

She works three days a week now rather than two afternoons

which, for Claire...

She'd prefer not to work

and that's one of the downsides of what we've done.

My life's changed quite dramatically.

I work a lot more hours which, in an idea world,

I wouldn't work with a toddler.

I do have working-mum guilt

and she might get an extra biscuit or two because I have that guilt.

It's hard work and it's taken a few months to adjust, actually,

to our new working lives

but it's worked and we feel a lot happier

and a lot closer because if it.

It's not just Simon and Claire that have had to adjust to their new lives.

The children have had to make sacrifices too.

Isobel was quite upset moving out of the village of Hurst

because it's quite a sought after place to live.

She goes to the village school, which is a lovely school

and she liked walking to school and living in Hurst

and when we told her we were moving, she was upset about,

of all things, the postcode change.

-Yeah, she's quite a snob.

-She is quite a snob.

When we moved, I liked our old house better,

but now I've got used to this house

and I like it better than our old house.

She's a bit...

She wonders why all her friends go on skiing holidays

and holidays to the States and things like that and we don't,

although she understands the value of money

and she understands that we can't afford to do that.

We've bought a tent

because we can't afford the expensive holidays any more.

We've had a few camping trips.

We've all taken up body-boarding as our new hobby because it's cheap

and we all love it.

We still afford what we used to afford for them.

The only thing that's gone is the expensive holidays we used to have

and the expensive cars and I think they'll come back in time

if we need them to

but at the moment we're happy going about in our tent

and jumping about in the sea a bit, aren't we?

The time the Guiles spent in New Zealand

reminded them how important friends and family were

and brought them closer together.

New Zealand taught us that our family are really important

and our parents and grandparents and friends.

And, just recently, my dad's been quite poorly and...he's fine

but all the time I'm thinking when I'm speaking to my mum

and Dad's in hospital,

I can pop over and see Mum and see Dad in hospital

but if we were the other side of the world,

I would never have been able to do that.

Several times, things have been brought home to me in that respect.

You couldn't visit them for your birthday

and they couldn't come to your party

and we'd just miss them.

Emma? Emma? Give it to Iona please.

There you go.

My dad, Joan, my mum, Claire's mum and dad,

they were all hugely supportive - 100% behind us -

but the decision we made to stay in the UK

really has been the decision that they're pleased with

and ultimately we're pleased with too.

It was their life, their opportunity

and if they felt that opportunity was right for them

then you've got to back them. It was a big decision

but I'm pleased they made the decision they did.

It's really worked out for the better, I believe, for them.

It's certainly worked out better for us because we get to see them a lot more.

Yeah, we see our grandparents a lot now.

I always liked going to see my cousins

but it's even nicer now my dad can come.

-Cheers, chaps.

-Cheers.

-Cheers for Saturday's football.

Life is better for the Guiles

and their time in New Zealand helped them realise

they could find what they're looking for

without moving to the other side of the world.

I think we've won. We've come out on top rather than before.

We just muddled along and we were happy

but we just didn't have the quality of time.

Although now we do have the time but no money

and before we had the money and no time so...

But we can do things with no money.

I think people rarely take a week out of their lives

to consider what they're doing

and New Zealand gave us the opportunity

and the confidence that it was the right decision for us to change.

Life is more relaxed as a family now and we have got time for each other.

Having made our decision, we've appreciated what we've got more.

Yeah, I think my dad's a lot happier now cos we get to see him

and he sees my mum.

He kind of, like... knows us better, I think.

It sounds silly cos I've known him for 13 years and he...

Yeah, I just feel like I KNOW him now.

We've managed to change our lives hugely and we're in the UK.

We didn't have to go to New Zealand

to get away from this really busy life.

It looks as if their week in New Zealand

was exactly what the family needed to help them make a new start

and, in the end, they found their answers a lot closer to home.

But although it's not plain sailing yet,

the Guiles are excited about their future together back in the UK.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd

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