Taylor Wanted Down Under Revisited

.

If your dream of starting a new life on the other side of the world

meant leaving behind one of your children,

would you still make the move?

That was the dilemma confronting the Taylor family back in 2009.

Today, we're going to catch up with them

to find out which choice they finally made.

Teachers Vanessa and Phil Taylor

had always dreamt of moving to New Zealand for a better family life.

It will be difficult, but it's something I'm prepared to do.

But their teenage children didn't share their enthusiasm.

There's not really much around I can do.

I don't really like it here.

It's a massive decision,

because I've got the option to stay behind and not go.

And when we caught up with them a year later,

their world had turned upside down.

Things were going along smoothly, Christmas came and went.

And a few weeks after that was the bombshell.

Now we're visiting them again to find out

if they were finally able to make the move down under.

In 2009, the Taylor family faced the biggest decision of their lives -

whether to stay in the UK or to move to New Zealand.

We gave them a week to sample life down under.

But what's happened since we last met them?

Vanessa and Phil Taylor were living in Acklam in Middlesbrough

with their three teenage children, Liam, Ryan and Megan.

Full-time teachers Vanessa and Phil were disillusioned with life in the UK.

They were desperate for a better work-life balance

and greater opportunities for their children.

When all comes to all, it's about lifestyle.

Being a teacher, it's very busy and time-consuming.

And it is, it's a lifestyle issue, that we seem to be working.

We didn't seem to have a great deal of time for ourselves.

Ryan and sister Megan were sold on the idea of New Zealand's outdoor lifestyle.

I was quite excited at first because the immediate reaction,

I put a connection between New Zealand and the New Zealand rugby team.

I really love rugby, so it just kind of clicked straightaway.

I hated it to start with.

I didn't know anything about New Zealand being horse country,

so I had no idea.

I've researched about horses over there and Mum and Dad have said

I might be able to get a horse while we're over there.

So I'm feeling happy with that.

But 17-year-old Liam was adamant

he didn't want to leave his friends

and his work with the St John's ambulance service.

I'm 99.9% sure I won't go.

I think I'm going to be the hardest one to convince to go to New Zealand.

When it boils down to it,

I think it'll be whether I'll be prepared to leave my family to stay here.

Because I think they'll all make the decision to go in the end.

I'm really hoping that it does convince him,

because, well, if it doesn't, then...

you know, what is there?

He'll be staying here and we'll be 12,000 miles away.

To help the Taylors decide where their future lay,

they travelled 12,000 miles to Auckland in New Zealand.

After a 32-hour flight, they arrived jetlagged

and worried about their unknown future.

I just can't wait to find out, really, what the place is all about.

The Taylors stayed in the rural area of Piha, situated west of Auckland.

Their first impressions were good.

But there was a lot of work to do to convince Liam.

It's amazing, isn't it?

So considering this is your first hour,

in New Zealand, it's not going too badly then, is it?

No.

-I'm sure I'll find something I dislike in a sec.

-I'm sure you will!

In the UK, the Taylors lived in a five-bedroom detached house in Middlesbrough.

If they made the move to New Zealand,

it would only be worth uprooting for a home of a similar size.

In 2009, their home was on the market for £235,000.

If their house sold for the asking price, they would have £100,000

in equity to put towards their perfect property in New Zealand.

We found three houses in Auckland to show them what they could afford.

They started their search in the Waitakere area of West Auckland.

Property one was a four-bedroom detached house.

Would their first impressions of New Zealand homes live up to their hopes?

It's a beautiful home in amongst bush. But not too far from anywhere.

One of the other touches is,

not only the bush surround, but magnificent views of the countryside.

They are very, very pleasant.

Come on through, we'll have a look at the bedrooms.

Obviously for Mum and Dad. You've got your own patio area.

-It's really pleasant.

-So, how much is it, then?

The property is on the market for 539,000.

Obviously, the vendor will be negotiable.

To what point, we don't know at this stage.

-I like the location of this house.

-Yes.

I mean, the views, really, are great.

But I'm not too keen on the inside of it, I have to say.

Bedrooms are quite small. For five people, I don't think it's big enough.

So, too small for the whole Taylor family.

Would property two have the space they desired?

Ten minutes away in the village of Riverhead, it was a do-up,

which was Kiwi speak for rundown.

Don't worry about your shoes, you can leave them on.

As I've mentioned, this is a do-up,

and you will appreciate as you walk through

quite a bit of work needs to be done.

The bathrooms need to be done up. Structurally, it's sound, it's fine.

But certainly when it comes to presentation, you need to do some work.

So, how much are you expecting this property to realise on the market?

He would look at something in the region of 500, in the 500s.

Is this damp smell that I'm smelling? What is it?

It is a bit of a damp smell in here.

You said it was structurally sound, but is there damp?

Structurally, it is a concrete building.

There won't be any problems with it structurally,

but obviously the carpet and the drapes

and things like that would have a fair bit of moisture in it.

And I would think all that needs to be changed.

It's such a poor layout,

in terms of the way things are laid out,

that I would take all of the interior walls out.

So not the right house for the Taylors.

This one definitely didn't persuade them to make the move.

Further out of town, property three potentially had

all they were looking for,

with stunning views over the Kaipara harbour.

But was it right for them?

-This is quite nice, isn't it?

-Yes, very nice.

That's the boundary fence there,

then you've got three paddocks here, two small ones in front of us,

and up to the road there, a larger paddock towards the road.

-So that part is ours?

-It all belongs to this.

It's got to be out of our price range!

It's a four-bedroom house, on about 2.5 acres.

Asking price of 699.

-Sold!

-Pardon? Sold! I like it, thank you!

Vanessa and Phil were impressed with the property.

It seemed to have something for the whole family.

-Fifth bedroom.

-Well, I'll have this, cos my horse can go in the corner,

my bedroom can go here, I'll have a fridge over there.

-It'll be quiet in there.

-It's a massive amount of land.

I'm sure you could make a bit flat enough

and put a set of rugby posts to practice your kicking on.

Or is that wishful thinking?!

That property was far superior to the other two.

So we're a bit happier about property in New Zealand now.

Because that was pretty much perfect.

This is much more the kind of thing that we had in mind.

When you couple that with the view from the living room,

it's pretty spectacular.

They'd found their ideal home.

But with a much higher asking price,

it would have stretched their finances.

How did they vote for property? New Zealand or the UK?

Living on an estate in Middlesbrough

where there are four or five designs of house that are the same,

I would have to say that I prefer the individuality of New Zealand.

The New Zealand houses just pipped the UK,

so I'm going to choose New Zealand.

My vote's going to have to be for New Zealand.

New Zealand is my vote.

Liam was adamant that New Zealand wasn't for him. So how did he vote?

Because I'm kind of an outrageous kind of guy, I'm going to go for...

New Zealand.

Well, for property at least, the family were united,

but that was only the first vote of the week.

Greater challenges lay ahead.

Back in the UK, Vanessa had been teaching food technology

at a secondary school for four years.

She earned around £30,000,

but work involved long hours and less time spent with her family.

In New Zealand, she wanted to find out if work could finance

both the dream home and the lifestyle that she craved.

I'm going to Balmoral School to teach a class of year sevens.

I'm a little bit nervous, but I'm looking forward to it.

I think it'll be quite a good experience.

This is what I've been planning all along.

I'll love it or hate it, hopefully I'll love it!

I'm just going to go over a few quick things

and get some ideas from you as well,

it's not just going to be me standing here telling you,

I'd like a lot of input from you as well.

While Vanessa was at school,

the rest of the family were checking out what New Zealand had to offer.

-Hi, guys. So you're keen on a bit of surfing?

-Definitely.

-Have you ever done any surfing before?

-No.

-Perfect.

-I'm expecting to have you standing and riding in one lesson.

-Expectations!

Don't worry, Megan, the girls always do best.

Vanessa and Phil knew they had one week to convince their children

that a move was right for everyone.

This is it. Megan, it's on.

This is quite interesting, to see them attempting this,

they've never surfed before.

They're starting on a level playing field for once,

so it'll be interesting to see who does the best out of the three of them.

Whilst the family enjoyed the waves,

Vanessa had made a good impression on her class.

On behalf of room 8 and 10, we'd like to thank you, Mrs Taylor, for coming in today

and teaching us new skills about packaging and labels.

Thank you very much, that's really nice of you! Thank you!

Can I just say, it's been a real pleasure to be in here today.

I've loved coming in and working with you.

And I hope to come back again and see you soon.

So thank you very much, it's been really good.

That was a really nice surprise, yeah. I was very touched!

Yeah, it was great.

The lesson had gone well.

And a potential salary of 55,000

was only slightly less than she was earning at home.

I was a little worried that we wouldn't be able to manage,

it wouldn't be something we could do.

Because the cost of living here in New Zealand is lower,

that will offset that.

It doesn't seem too bad, perfectly manageable, anyway.

Vanessa could see a future in teaching in New Zealand,

and Phil was seeing the benefits of the lifestyle.

The work-life balance is the key factor

in us looking to move to New Zealand.

As a teacher in the UK,

you do find that your work life intrudes into your home life.

I'm hoping that by moving to New Zealand, it will redress the balance.

And we get more time to be together as a family,

and to do things together, even if it is new stuff.

I think it will do us all good as a family.

It seemed New Zealand had a lot to offer the Taylors

in terms of the life they wanted.

However, did it convince them all

that their dream future could be a reality?

How would Vanessa vote on her experience at school?

Teaching in New Zealand is very similar to the UK.

But it does seem that there is more opportunity to actually teach,

rather than deal with behavioural issues,

which there are a lot of in the UK.

And it's a lot friendlier environment as well.

So with that in mind, I'm going to choose...

New Zealand.

For the Taylors, a new life down under rested not only on the right job

but on the price they could get for their house back in the UK.

It was a five-bedroom property in Middlesbrough.

Back in 2009, they believed its value was £235,000.

We sent round a local estate agent to give his opinion

on what he thought it was worth.

It's a lovely five-bedroom extended property,

in a very sought after location, with close links to all local schools.

'The master bedroom would benefit from an ensuite

'but it is still a very charming property.'

£185,000 for a quick sale.

-You're joking!

-For a QUICK sale.

That is ridiculous, I have to say.

It was 225, 235, and 245, the three valuations we got.

So we went for 235, it's on the market for 235.

There's probably a reason why you haven't had any viewings.

-Well, that's no good.

-Cos it's too high.

-Then it's pointless.

We'd hardly have any money to bring over.

If we sell it at that, I'd rather stay in the UK, simple as that.

In the UK, Liam volunteered for the St John's ambulance service,

which he saw as a stepping stone to a future career as a paramedic.

This was another pull to the UK.

Phil and Vanessa were keen to show him

the opportunities he could have in New Zealand.

So what's the chances of Liam doing something like this out here in New Zealand?

With experience in the UK, probably a good chance.

I mean, I'm not involved with the recruitment.

There's a good chance, having a St John's background.

You can probably tell by the smile on my face, I'm extremely happy

being able to come to an ambulance station over here.

It's given me quite a lot to think about.

It's made me think that New Zealand might be a good option to take.

At the moment, I'm still quite swayed towards the UK.

But...

I think New Zealand is slowly growing on me, I do have to admit.

Liam seemed to be coming around to the idea of New Zealand.

But Megan still needed some convincing.

Vanessa and Phil thought a trip to a local horse riding centre in West Auckland

would persuade her.

So, do you guys want to saddle them up?

Yeah, this is the most exciting thing that I was looking forward to.

Mainly because I just love horses. Better than anything else. Hello!

It looks a little bit spirited.

But was the pull of the UK too strong?

I like riding in England better, to be honest.

And I like the horses better there as well.

I think I'd miss my friends if I moved out here,

and I wouldn't really like to go to school here, I don't think.

I don't really like it here.

Vanessa and Phil had tried their hardest to convince Liam and Megan.

But would it be enough to make them vote for New Zealand?

In New Zealand, there seems to be a lot more to do.

Everything about the lifestyle in New Zealand seems better,

so I'm going to vote New Zealand.

From what we've seen so far, I would have to vote New Zealand.

Because there's more opportunity, I'm going to stick with New Zealand.

For me, I'm just going to have to vote New Zealand.

I already like my lifestyle in the UK,

and there's not really much to do here, so I vote UK.

Megan's lifestyle vote was a huge disappointment for Phil and Vanessa.

But at least Liam seemed to be coming round.

The Taylors had a tough decision to make.

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

Hello, hi, Vanessa. Hi, Phil. Hi, boys. Hi, Megan.

Hi, Vanessa, Phil, kids.

I hope you've had an absolutely fabulous time.

Hi, everyone, hope you've enjoyed yourselves.

She's a very loving person.

She's very, she's loving to me,

because we're very close.

With them not having their mother, of course.

If Liam went out there, he wouldn't settle anywhere.

I think he'd want to come home. If he did go.

I think my sister would be disappointed if he didn't go.

To leave one behind, and you go round the other side of the world,

I think would be a big thing to leave him behind.

To be honest, I don't blame them. They've got a growing family,

you've got to do what's best for your family, best for you.

It's a difficult time for you,

lots of decisions to be made.

We'll do everything we can to make it easy for you.

You know, we just want you to be happy.

Hope everything goes OK, Phil, you deserve it, you're a good man.

Vanessa, don't think about anybody else, just think about you,

and Phil, and your children.

If you want to stay, you stay. If you want to come home, come home.

It's, to be honest, it's pretty much the way I expected it to be.

Everybody, all the family's been very supportive,

they said they wanted us to do what we feel is right.

I know everyone's supportive.

And they even told us, when making your decision,

don't think about us, think about what's right for you.

But you can't not bring them into mind.

I'm going to miss them, but I wouldn't have a choice anyway.

So if Mum and Dad decide to go, we have to.

I think it has made a difference seeing that.

Nan, she's just very matter-of-fact.

Just puts the cards on the table and tells you how it is.

It's a massive decision, and I think it's an even bigger decision for me.

Because I've got the option to stay behind and not go.

And that might impact... the rest of the family's decision.

The family were deeply moved by seeing their loved ones.

But the main thing stopping them from making the decision to go was Liam.

Had they done enough to convince him that New Zealand offered him a future?

It was time for the final vote.

New Zealand has a lot to offer,

and I'm really going to miss people in the UK.

However, with the aid of technology, the way it is,

and I know I'll regret it for the rest of my life,

if I don't give it a go, I'm going to go with New Zealand.

It's a lot to leave behind and look back on, but I also think

there's a lot to look forward to and, for that reason, I choose New Zealand.

There's a lot to offer here,

and I know my friends will beat me up for this, but I'm going to choose New Zealand.

I've enjoyed myself more than I usually enjoy myself in the UK.

As well as having the Bay of Plenty,

it seems to be the land of plenty, so I'm going to choose New Zealand.

I've lived in the UK for 12 years and I've got loads of friends

and family back in the UK, and I just don't think I can leave them,

so I'm going to say UK.

This is good news that Liam's chosen New Zealand.

Bit of a surprise that Megan hasn't, however,

we've got nine months to work on Megan.

It didn't work the last time we said we'd work on it!

If it turns out that we can't move to New Zealand, it will be

quite devastating because I've been looking at this for a very long time

but, as always, I'm going to try and find a way round it.

And I will, because I'm coming.

After their week in New Zealand,

the Taylors seemed on the verge of a move down under.

But one year later, they were still living in the UK after some big changes at home.

The trip to New Zealand was great.

We all enjoyed it.

I think the country, outdoors life suited me.

Everyone was still, yeah, we're all for New Zealand,

and Megan was still moaning, but we still didn't care.

I still don't like it.

Still don't like it, but I'm going to have to go.

We've started the ball rolling with our application.

And... Everybody was really positive.

Things were going along smoothly.

Christmas came and went, and a few weeks after that was the bombshell.

Liam's girlfriend was pregnant.

Which was a major, major blow because obviously,

he'd decided he was definitely coming to New Zealand with us...

And there's not much way of getting round the fact now,

that he's going to have to stay in the UK.

The news of a baby on the way meant that Liam had to totally rethink his plans on moving.

I was all set for going to New Zealand and quite happy about going.

And then, all of a sudden...

we found out that my girlfriend was pregnant.

It's changed the ball game completely.

Obviously, from then, my mind was made up for me, and I had to stay.

Our initial reaction was a little bit mixed.

Vanessa, I think, was a bit shocked.

I think she was a bit angry

because it's a conversation we'd had with Liam.

I thought, straightaway,

there's no way, now, that Liam will come to New Zealand with us.

It's thrown everything out,

and there's now a possibility that my mum might not want to go.

With Liam having new responsibilities,

emotional ties to the UK would be even harder to break.

If we don't get across to New Zealand in the summer,

then, and the grandchild is born, at that point...

..it will be even more difficult, then, to leave them all behind.

And maybe we won't. Maybe we'll still be here.

I think I'd like them to be there when the baby is born,

but it shouldn't interfere with what they already had planned

and what they wanted to do.

And I wouldn't like to feel that they were stopped doing something.

With Liam's path now set,

where do the rest of the family see their future?

This time next year, I've no idea where everyone's going to be.

I think my mum and dad and me and Megan are all going to be in New Zealand.

I don't really want to say goodbye.

I might just not say goodbye.

So, I'll see you soon, you know. Not actually going to leave you.

It will be difficult to say goodbye to him, if he doesn't come with us.

But, ultimately, we'll have to go, I think.

It will be awful, having to leave him behind, but...I don't know.

The move to New Zealand was a huge decision,

but with the change in circumstances affecting the whole family,

would it end the Taylors' dream? It was time to vote again.

We've been back in the UK now for seven months or so.

And in that time the situation's changed slightly,

and therefore, our new votes are going to be...

I've already been telling everyone about our plans to move to New Zealand,

and everyone's been asking me, "Is it final? Is it definite?"

And I'm thinking, it better be New Zealand, I've already told them I have.

Things are slightly different now,

with Liam not coming to New Zealand,

with his new situation.

However, I'm still going to choose New Zealand.

A lot of things have changed since the last time we did this.

However, I have to say that my opinion is

that the prospects for this family still lie in New Zealand.

I think I'm going to vote for the UK,

probably because I've got lots of friends and family

and I prefer riding the horses that I already know much better,

so I'm voting the UK.

I really enjoyed my trip to New Zealand

and I'd love to go back sometime,

but at the moment, circumstances make me want to stay in the UK.

In 2009, Vanessa was desperate to move to New Zealand.

And after a week of experiencing the reality of life down under,

she persuaded the family to make the move.

But the Taylors' circumstances changed when they returned to the UK,

and their plans to emigrate were thrown up in the air.

And after all the emotional heartache,

could Vanessa and Phil really make the move?

It will be awful, having to leave them behind, but...I don't know.

In 2010, a move to New Zealand

was looking more and more difficult for the Taylors to make.

So, a year later, have they finally given up on their dream,

or has there been a big turnaround?

It's summer, 2011, and Vanessa, Phil, Ryan and Megan

have made the move to New Zealand.

After Vanessa excepted a teaching job, the family have been

living in Palmerston North, a two-hour drive from Wellington.

The vibrant city has New Zealand's shops

and nightlife on their doorstep.

And being at the foothills of the Tararua mountains,

there's plenty of activities for everyone.

After such a difficult decision,

how have the Taylors settled in to life in New Zealand?

So, here we are in New Zealand.

And I've been here for nine months. And Phil's been here three months.

The job that I got started in January,

so I came out with Megan and Ryan.

Phil stayed in the UK until he got his visa.

Because Vanessa had said that she would take the job,

we didn't want to let them down, did we, so I had six months, nearly, on my own.

In a way, though, it made leaving Liam a little bit easier,

because it was sort of a staged withdrawal, wasn't it?

And although he probably had to say bye-bye twice,

it was still, I think, easier on him.

It certainly supported me,

and I would like to think it made a difference to Liam.

We talk to Liam fairly regularly on Skype, which is really nice,

but it's just not the real thing,

so there's no comparison there.

The move to New Zealand was hard for everyone,

but especially Ryan and Megan.

When I found out we were definitely moving here,

I wasn't the happiest person.

I didn't want to leave all of my friends, family, and all the horses I knew over there.

The last nine months I've been here, it has been pretty fun

and I've made friends at school.

I am pleased that they decided to come.

Everyone here has been so nice,

and they just welcome you into friendship groups.

It's been quite easy to fit in.

My mum told me that she got the job.

I was excited, cos I knew we were going.

After a while, I realised I'm going to have to say goodbye to my friends,

and then I thought about my brother. And that upset me a lot.

Just leaving him behind, it's not something I ever wanted to do,

something I never thought I'd be doing.

We did, and I got over it.

The last year has been tough for the Taylors,

but despite this, they have settled in to life in Palmerston North,

and have been renting this three-bedroom home.

The house that we've moved into now is a new-build.

I don't know if it's because we've got all our

own furniture in here, but the decor is quite similar,

and the carpets are similar,

so when I put some photographs of this new house on the internet

for family to see in the UK, there was a few of them

commented how much it looks like the house in Middlesbrough.

I actually think it's done us good to rent, because we can get to know

what the property's like, the area, the market.

It's a whole different ball game out here.

I think ultimately, we will probably end up buying.

We're looking at a timeframe of 12 to 18 months, and then,

after that, I think we'll probably look at building something

that we want, that would be long-term,

really, for after when the kids have left home.

It was Vanessa's skills as a food technology teacher

that secured the visa to move to New Zealand and she's been working

at the same secondary school that Megan attends.

So we're going to continue on with star profiles

of what you think a pizza would be like that I made fresh this morning.

-PHIL:

-'When Vanessa got the job, when she was offered the job,

'she did an interview over the internet,

'and she got an e-mail, early in the morning for us, that said,

' "We would like to offer you the position," and she was absolutely ecstatic.

'She was over the moon.'

It was at that point we realised,

actually, this is going to happen for us.

Teaching in New Zealand is definitely more enjoyable.

'It's the way I feel teaching should be.

'The subjects I am teaching here seem to be more work-related,

'the interaction with the students is much happier, much easier.

'The students in New Zealand seem more willing to work

'and we don't have a lot of behavioural issues.'

The school that I worked on in the UK, I did feel I was taking

work home every night, a lot of paperwork as well, rather than marking.

'Comparing that to here in New Zealand, I would say I try

'and get everything done during the week, so that my weekends are my own,'

and the work I take home during the week is, maybe,

Monday to Friday, totals up three hours, so for me,

it's been a big improvement.

Vanessa is relishing the challenges her new job is bringing,

but for Phil, things haven't been so easy.

It's been quite frustrating.

It's kind of surreal that I'm not in full-time employment.

The problem that we had with my visa, delaying me five months,

meant that I arrived at entirely the wrong time of year,

because the school term starts in February.

So, me arriving halfway through the year, meant there were

no teaching jobs, so it really caused a problem with the plans we'd set in place.

But despite work setbacks, the Taylors are enjoying

all the opportunities New Zealand has to offer the whole family.

Not working has given us the opportunity to get out and about.

We can get to know the area. Everything is so different.

It'd been such a change for us.

It's probably no bad thing that we've got some time to ourselves,

and Vanessa doesn't bring work home like she used to in the UK,

so we spend a lot more family time together.

Moving to New Zealand is the best thing that I've ever done.

It'd lived up to the expectations that I had of New Zealand,

the lifestyle, the people, the place, it's all been great, so far.

I think moving to New Zealand has been a good family decision.

I've really enjoyed it so far.

It's the right decision, but the only downside is leaving Liam and his family.

For the Taylor family, one of the most difficult decisions

was to leave hind eldest son Liam and granddaughter Destiny.

Since they've moved, being separated from loved ones

has got even harder, as Liam has become a father again.

When we first made the decision, it was a matter of convincing Liam

that this is where his future lie,

and when we found out about Destiny, then that changed things

because it meant he definitely couldn't come.

If we knew Liam definitely wouldn't be coming before we started,

we probably wouldn't have even looked at it.

There are times when it does hang over us,

I think, as a family, the fact that Liam's not here.

The majority of the time we manage to get on with things, get on with life,

then there's just that odd occasion where things crop up and you think about Liam,

and yes, there's that black cloud there, thinking, "I wish he was here."

I try not to think of Liam as being so far away, because I get to talk

to him over the internet, but it's not the same cos he's not here,

and I'm used to sending him a text and him just popping round to see me.

It is something I can't do any more and I miss him.

Having Liam and my nieces back in England

has been tough on everyone.

But we're still getting on with things. I mean,

we know we're going to see them again.

We just don't really know when.

But they wanted us to come over here and have a better life,

but it's just sad we had to leave them.

I found it more difficult

than I thought I would with Liam not being here.

I thought I would be able to cope.

Everybody says, "The world's a small place, you've got the internet

"and you can talk to each other every week," but it's not the same.

It's hard for us and it's hard for him.

It's hard for Megan and Ryan,

but that's the way it's got to be, I suppose.

Whether it'll get easier in time,

I couldn't honestly answer that.

It probably will. But it will always be there.

And it will always be, sort of,

a missed opportunity, maybe.

The Taylors' new life down under has been fraught with difficult decisions

and with a new addition to the family,

watching a message from Liam could remind them what they're missing in the UK.

Hiya, Mam, hiya, Dad. Hiya, Ryan, hiya, Megan!

Hope you're all doing really well. I'm really missing you all loads

and hopefully I'll be able to come and see you as soon as possible.

For the moment, I've got to stay here.

Destiny has been looking at your pictures, Megan,

and we've seen that you have won a few horse competitions.

You're doing really well.

I'm just sorry I can't be there to watch you win them.

Ryan, I am glad to hear you're doing really well at school.

Mam...

I miss you more than words can say.

I miss having you around,

just to talk to,

but I am glad that you really like the school you're teaching in now.

Dad, when Mam left

and you were left here, with me,

we spent a lot of time together

and that made it a little bit harder to leave.

But I understand why you've done it

and I wish you all the best of luck.

Right, I know you've seen pictures of her on the internet,

and a few times on video calls, but this is your first real

opportunity to see her at work, so this is Charley!

(She's going to cry)!

I thought she was going to cry, as well.

This is the new addition to the family.

She hopes she can come and see you soon, all of you.

As do I!

Liam doesn't show his emotions very often,

in fact, hardly ever, and the fact that we've seen,

we've all individually seen the message from him, there,

has brought it home more, because we do speak to him over the internet,

but he doesn't tell us how much he misses us.

Ultimately, I do feel it's still been the right thing to do, because,

it was the right decision for Liam to stay in the UK with his kids,

and start making his future there.

It was still right for us to continue

and start making our future in New Zealand.

It's a shame Liam can't be part of it,

but it's not to say he'll never be part of it.

It is difficult to put into words exactly how you feel.

I mean, I miss Liam.

I wish he was here, but I miss Destiny. Charley's a little bit

different, because we'd left before she was born.

But that doesn't change the fact that we have two grandchildren

in the UK, and...

I just wish they were here.

Although the Taylors have had a long and difficult journey,

the family are finally making a real home in New Zealand.

I am pleased that they decided to come,

otherwise I wouldn't have met the people that I have

and I wouldn't have got my horse or my cute little kitten.

It's just been quite a good experience.

Moving to New Zealand was a fantastic idea.

Just the things to do has really brought us together.

I think my mum and dad have got this little hope, that one day

Liam will come out, and I definitely do.

It's been an emotional rollercoaster

because we've had to leave Liam behind

and obviously I would prefer it if he was here.

But for the lifestyle, the work-life balance,

I'm glad that I've made the move.

I am happier than I thought I would be, actually.

I've really enjoyed it.

We're more relaxed, we've got more time,

it is a good life.

So after three years, two new family members

and plenty of sleepless nights, the Taylors are finally settling in

to their new lives down under

and with a growing family back in the UK

there's still a bit of their hearts left at home.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd

E-mail [email protected]