Foster Wanted Down Under Revisited

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In 2009, the Foster family were faced with a heartbreaking dilemma -

they hoped a move to Australia

could offer them the ideal life they'd dreamt of.

But it would come at the cost

of leaving behind one of their children.

Today, we're catching up with them to find out what they decided to do.

Wayne Foster was thinking of

moving his family to the other side of the world.

My main hope and dream is to give them a good start in life,

that's really driving our decision to go.

But wife Lois was torn

because her daughter Amy refused to join them.

It's so painful,

but I have three young children who I have to think of in this.

And as the week unfolded, she found the decision impossible to bear.

The thing is, I'm really fearful.

But my hopes are phenomenal, my hopes are so exciting and so passionate,

and my hopes for my boys and for Amy are what drive me, definitely.

In 2009, the Fosters faced a huge decision -

whether to swap their home in the UK for a new start in Australia.

We gave them one week to experience the reality of living down under,

but what's happened since we last met them?

MUSIC: "Wedding March" by Felix Mendelssohn

After four years together, Lois and Wayne tied the knot,

surrounded by their family and friends.

They were about to leave all they knew and loved

to see what life could be like in Australia.

The couple lived in Derby with Amy,

Lois's daughter from a previous relationship,

and their sons, three-year-old Isaac

and the twins, Jackson and Elliott.

Or was it Elliott and Jackson?

Wayne had recently taken voluntary redundancy from his job

as a security manager for a national retail chain,

and was ready for a brand-new experience.

My main hope and dream in terms of going to Australia with the boys is

to give them a good start in life.

I'm hoping the Australian culture is a bit more steady-paced,

a bit more family-orientated, because that's important to us.

That's really driving our decision to go.

But Lois faced a massive dilemma.

Amy, at the moment, cos she is 14,

doesn't want to come to Australia, for various reasons.

I think when you're 14,

your friends are very, very important to you, your schooling.

But it's difficult as a family to make that decision to allow her

the freedom of choice to not come if she wants to.

It's difficult to know you're going to leave your daughter behind,

but I've come to the decision that I love her enough to let her go.

Yeah, not a day goes past that I don't sit and think,

"What if she doesn't come?"

I have good days and bad days where I think, "She must come."

But I can't force her to come.

As a trial run,

Amy was staying part-time at the home of a family friend,

and was sure that a move down under wasn't for her.

I don't want to go to Australia because it's too far away.

I'm close with all my friends, and I have a nice life in Derby.

If they want to go, they can go,

I don't want to stop them because of me.

But I will miss Isaac and the twins.

As well as the difficult decision of leaving Amy behind,

Lois would also have faced giving up her job

as a senior nurse in a general practice.

Having worked hard to build up her career,

she was loath to take a backward step.

One of the reasons for us going to Australia is to find a job

like I do now that pays as much as I'd have now.

So if there's not the job that pays as well as I'm anticipating,

then that is a dilemma.

And husband Wayne also had concerns.

I believe it's a multicultural society over there,

so I'd hope the boys fitted in,

but again, once they get to school age,

if they didn't fit in and didn't settle,

that would drive our decision maybe not to stay in Australia.

Wayne's parents had passed away,

but Lois found telling her mum and dad

about their plans for Australia particularly difficult.

I think, initially, it was devastation, and I think it still is,

trying to get their head around the fact that their grandchildren are

at such a young age, they may potentially miss so much.

Wayne thought that Australia would be best for the boys,

but could Lois leave her daughter, her parents and her career behind?

For their week down under,

the Fosters went to Perth, the capital of Western Australia.

As a small but busy city,

it offered good work opportunities for both Wayne and Lois.

With plenty of suburbs spreading out all along the coast,

they could get more property for their pound.

After a 10,000-mile journey and 18 hours in the air

with three young children, the Fosters landed in Perth.

How were they feeling?

I just want a cup of tea!

That was really good.

I'm not as tired as I thought I would be, which is good.

I'm still pretty fresh.

Then, it was on to their home for the week.

The Fosters were staying

in a spacious four-bedroom house in the Seville Grove area.

This is great, very similar to what I was saying

about the American houses,

where it is just a very large, open-space, bungalow-type scenario.

-Very good, really good.

-It'll fit all our furniture in.

Yeah, easily. A really good base.

It would worry me

we wouldn't initially be able to afford somewhere this big,

but I suppose it's what you aim for, isn't it?

It was a good start, especially as Lois and Wayne had

a week of big decisions ahead of them,

although Isaac didn't seem too worried.

Back in the UK, Lois and Wayne had a four-bedroom house in Derby.

They'd recently added a new kitchen and family room,

which Lois loved, so any house in Perth had a lot to live up to.

In Australia, they had a budget of around £235,000.

As they prepared to head off to the first property,

Lois was already thinking about

how to make this work for the whole family.

We're looking primarily for a four-bed,

so that if Amy changes her mind and comes out,

we've got an extra bedroom waiting.

So we showed them three different homes.

The first was a four-bedroom house in Port Kennedy.

It was on the market for £245,000,

so at a push, they would have been able to afford it.

While our local childminder took care of the children,

Lois and Wayne looked around the house.

-Wow!

-Very nice.

It's lovely, isn't it? It feels very low, though.

If you notice, the ceilings feel quite low.

The kitchen didn't match up to what they were used to.

I think it's workable, it's good.

But it's difficult when you've got the kitchen at home,

-you compare every kitchen thereafter to the kitchen at home.

-Same toaster.

It is, isn't it?

Although the kitchen was a bit small,

there were spacious rooms that impressed Lois and Wayne.

Now we're talking.

His and hers sinks, very nice.

This is good.

And with a large garden, hot tub and pond,

there was plenty of space for Wayne, Lois and the children.

For the size you get, I think it's quite competitive, really, isn't it?

Then it was on to the second house.

Also in Port Kennedy, this five-bedroom home was on the market

for £255,000. A little above their budget,

but with some haggling on the price,

they should have been able to afford it.

-This is nice.

-It's a massive room.

I do like this space, and I do love the windows.

And it wasn't just the windows that took Lois's fancy.

This is an unusual use of space.

This house has got five bedrooms, so Isaac could have one room,

Amy could have another, the twins could share,

and then they could go separate.

That puts a different slant on it with it being five, doesn't it?

No, I'm quite impressed with that.

-Shall we go and have a look outside?

-Yeah.

Gosh, look at the barbecue!

It looks like it's all geared up towards outdoor entertaining.

-And there's a pool, shall we go and have a look?

-Yeah, yeah.

It's massive.

I'm not big on pools, though, me.

I just look at it and think it's lovely, I just think it's a shame,

the waste of space in the garden, because you wouldn't use this

as much as you'd use the outdoor with your wellies and a rain mac.

Wellies and a rain mac?! Was Lois confusing Australia with the UK?

It's lovely, but would you fill it in?

-Mmm, probably.

-I don't want a pool.

I don't know if I'd pay that kind of price for it,

maybe put an offer in a bit lower than that.

So, a house with a pool wasn't for the Fosters.

Everything now rested on the final property.

The third house was in the suburb of Baldivis, 30 miles' drive from central Perth.

Being slightly more inland,

this five-bedroom property offered more value for money.

It was on the market for £240,000, just within the Fosters' budget.

Oh, this is lovely.

Oh, yeah.

This open-plan stuff, it's fantastic, really is.

-It's just the size, isn't it?

-I know, I know.

I know. You'd get lost in there. It's lovely.

With lots of large rooms,

there was plenty of space for Lois, Wayne and the children,

including Amy, if she decided to come.

It's another double bedroom. I can't believe we have so many double beds.

This is fine for me, really,

because the kids can still get a decent run around.

No, nothing wrong with the size.

For some reason, I just thought it would be bigger.

-I can see myself in this one.

-Yes.

I can see people coming to visit, entertaining outdoors.

Very good. Really good.

The Fosters had seen three different houses,

but was it enough to choose Australia over their home in the UK?

It was time to vote on property.

We've had a great day looking at property.

We've seen three lovely properties,

and we can really see ourselves in all three.

And our vote is...

-Australia.

-Australia.

You surprised me.

I thought I would.

The Fosters were hoping that Australia would provide a better lifestyle for their family,

So we sent them to get a taste of it in Fremantle,

a city to the south of Perth, famous for its shops, harbour and markets.

Lois and Wayne were keen to sample the Aussie produce,

and headed out to see how it all compared to the UK.

And Isaac soon spotted one of his favourite foods.

Are these the big strawberries that you were on about?

Wow-wee! You want another one?

Lois was impressed.

The difference in taste is fantastic. Because these are grown locally,

the taste is fantastic. We've noticed that in the bigger ones.

-Our season's full in swing now.

-Yeah?

Yeah, this is the strawberry season.

A happy family then headed on to take in

more of Fremantle's delights.

There was plenty of space for young families to play.

Wayne knew it would take a lot more than parks and fresh fruit

to convince Lois to make the move.

Lois has got the situation with Amy

that she wants to resolve before she decides what she wants to do.

We've talked about it a lot, but I don't want it to feel like I'm dragging Lois here.

It isn't that. Lois understands that my thoughts are

bringing the boys here.

She's got the same thoughts, because they're her children too.

But she has got this decision,

this overbearing decision with Amy, that we've got to try and solve.

And the issue of her daughter Amy was weighing heavily.

My hopes for the future are

Amy wishes to come and join us as a family and be with us as a family.

That's what I hope. Because we are a family.

But it's the reality of, yes, if we come here, she's not here.

And that's just really hard,

as a mother,

to adjust to.

It was a day of highs and lows for Lois and Wayne.

But what had they made of the lifestyle down under,

and how would they vote?

And our vote is...

-UK.

-Did you?

I know I might surprise you.

That's just really, really, really surprised me. Why?

I know at the moment we've got more choice in the UK

as to where we go with the boys and being outdoor with the boys.

The problem is, which we've always said, is the weather -

it stops us getting out and about.

Here, it has been really sunny,

but I've not seen enough of Fremantle or Perth yet

to say definitely the UK. But for now, yeah, it is the UK.

For me, it's just very similar,

I could be in England on a summer's day.

In the UK, Lois had a successful career,

working as a senior nurse in a general practice.

She had worked hard to develop it,

and this specialised role had responsibilities that gave her

plenty of job satisfaction. She was earning £35,000 a year,

so if Lois was going to consider emigrating,

it was vital she found a similar position with similar pay.

So we arranged for her to visit

Glengarry Private Hospital in North Perth,

where she could find out about her job prospects.

She met with Sally Harris, acting director of nursing,

who wasted no time showing her around the wards.

You're a very experienced nurse.

-Thank you.

-Your particular role that you're looking for is similar?

I'm looking for something very similar,

but I'm really worried I'm not going to find the same role here.

To be honest, you probably wouldn't.

Australia is still only developing the nurse practitioner role.

Here, probably, the role that would be nearest to that

would be an after-hours manager position.

It looked as if Lois wouldn't be able to do her UK job here.

Back at the house, Wayne was looking after the boys,

and knew how much work meant to her.

We're aware that Australia aren't

quite up to speed with nurse practitioners.

I'm not 100% prepared for her to consider

taking a lower position here

and actually not being happy in that position.

If it doesn't work for Lois, then it doesn't work for me -

I want her to be happy.

Meanwhile, she had the chance to spend some time with Rachel,

whose role was the nearest equivalent

to her nurse practitioner position.

I work, myself, four days a week.

I use day-care one day a week,

and I have a fantastic mum who can help pick up kids from school.

I wouldn't have any family here to do the pick-up after school.

Do schools have after-school clubs, is there day-care?

Yes, if you have children that are school age,

then we do have after-school care, that's not a problem.

This is a typical birthing suite.

Do you mind if I ask you

what your salary is, in comparison to mine in the UK?

Sure, you would probably earn about 60,000 per annum for a 30-hour week.

Gosh. So it's not as much, is it?

I thought it would be a little bit more than that, to be honest.

But I think what you do is fantastic,

and I do love the sound of the job, it sounds amazing.

But I think, financially, it wouldn't support our family.

It wasn't good news.

And Wayne knew the move depended on Lois being able to earn similar pay

to her UK salary.

We've talked about what we would do to get this off the ground.

We know we'd have to achieve certain salaries

to afford certain living standards.

We're just not sure whether we'd actually go that far

as to sacrifice where we've got to to really make this thing work.

Back at the hospital, Lois was taking stock of the situation.

I think what I've found is that everybody's really, really friendly,

which is fantastic.

Unfortunately, I think the salaries aren't comparable to the UK.

My job now doesn't exist here, but I can use what I do in other jobs,

which is kind of exciting in many other ways,

which is kind of... What I've got from today is that

I can do the job here, just not what I'm doing now.

However, what Wayne had discovered since he'd got to Perth

had made him reassess their position.

To make ends meet in Australia,

what we've seen even when we're out shopping in Fremantle,

things are expensive.

So it's difficult to say that we can make my salary,

Lois's lowest salary work to get us where we want to go.

As much as it pains me to say it,

would we come if we couldn't get the jobs? Probably we would not, no.

Although Lois was impressed

by the kind of work she could do in Australia,

her job prospects seemed uncertain. So, how would she vote?

My vote is...

I can't decide.

Love my role that I do.

Love the potential that it has here.

Like my salary,

not sure what my salary will be, so kind of...

undecided.

If that's allowed.

In the UK, the Fosters owned a four-bedroom house in Derby,

which they bought for just under £140,000.

They'd done a lot of work on it, including a recent extension,

and they hoped it was worth around 170,000.

They needed every penny to afford a move.

So, we sent round two estate agents to give us their valuations.

Wow, what a lovely family room.

Lovely contemporary kitchen.

It doesn't look like our house, does it? It's weird, isn't it?

Good-sized double room.

Lovely, light, large en-suite.

If we were looking to put the house to the market,

in today's market, we'd put it on at 155,000.

However, if a quick sale be needed, I'd look to put it on at 140,000.

We were wrong.

At the moment, in the current market conditions,

we're looking at an asking price in the region of £140,000.

For a quick sale, somewhere in the region of 130 to £135,000.

At £30,000 less than they were hoping,

it definitely wasn't the news they wanted to hear.

Selling isn't going to be an option.

The lowest valuation for a quick sale,

which ideally we'd want, is at 130.

Well, that wouldn't even cover the mortgage, would it?

I'm looking for a bit more in terms of rental, if we were to come out.

Because it just means having to send the money back

to cover the shortfall.

That's a lot to cover the shortfall,

which goes back to everything we've said today

about my wages reflecting what we need to function.

Hmm. Anyway, on that note, do you want a cup of coffee?

A shot of whisky for me, I think!

To help Lois and Wayne see

if they really could afford to make the move,

we gave them a comparison of living costs between the UK and Australia.

The mortgage they're saying in Australia being 1,400.

Which is significantly more than at home.

This is interesting.

Private health insurance for a whole family of six is £178 a month.

That's a lot.

I think looking at that as a snapshot,

Australia is more expensive in terms of living costs.

The figures didn't look promising.

-OK.

-We may have to consider being more rural

and not being so city centre-based.

I'm not sure I'm 100% comfortable with that.

Obviously, bringing the boys up with that kind of small-town mentality,

that's how it feels.

The Fosters' future was in the balance.

So, which way did they vote?

-UK.

-UK.

This is looking pretty bad!

If the Fosters were to emigrate, they wanted to be sure

they could make new friends.

So, we arranged for them to meet up

with locals Suresh and Elizabeth Rejan and their sons

-for a picnic in the park.

-That's Isaac.

-Hi, Isaac.

But as they settled, the grey clouds rolled in.

We had fine weather all of the last few weeks,

and as you've arrived, you've brought the...

While the children got to play together, Suresh was keen

to reassure Wayne about Australia's multicultural credentials.

Some of the studies indicate that there are levels of racism

that exist in Australia generally, and Western Australia in particular.

Mainstream Australians are still trying to come to terms

with how these people fit into the society, but generally,

I'd say it's a very peaceful place, very harmonious place.

In Western Australia, we've got some huge diversity.

People seem very welcoming and very willing to start conversation,

as opposed to wait for you to kick things off.

It all seems very good and very acceptable in terms of actually

the way the boys would be brought up over here.

I'm quite pleased about that.

And Lois was feeling positive about what she'd seen of Australia.

One thing that I know we've not talked about...

I think, from what I've seen,

some of the cities are so, you know, cosmopolitan and so culturally mixed.

For me, I don't think it's an issue.

Certainly, the school the boys go to.

Shakele's little boys' club, his friends,

Mwansa is from Zambia, his family,

his other little friend, Alex, they're Croatian,

and then he's got another one which is Malaysian-Italian mix,

-and a lot of African boys here.

-Whee!

It was a positive morning for the Fosters,

and it looked as if they'd definitely made some new friends.

To help Wayne and Lois weigh up the emotional cost of emigrating,

we recorded some messages from loved ones back home.

While our childminder looked after the boys,

Mum and Dad watched a DVD.

-Hi, Lois, Wayne and Isaac.

-Hi, Zac. Hi, Jackson. Hi, Elliott.

Hi, Isaac. Hi, Mum. Hi, Wayne. Hi, twins. I hope you're having a good week.

Hi, Lois. Hello, Wayne. How you doing?

When they first told us,

we were absolutely gobsmacked and devastated.

It took us a few weeks, really, for it to sink in. Lot of tears,

it was awful, it was an awful time.

From a selfish point of view,

that my brother's not up the road any more.

He's not, like, "I'll see you in 20 or 40 minutes."

That's going to be difficult.

If it does happen, I'm not sure how I'll feel,

but I know they won't be there.

I'm trying not to talk about them, because it upsets me so much.

My only fear for them is obviously Amy being back in England

and for any mum, that's a really hard thing to do,

is leave one of your children back at home.

If my mum goes to Australia,, the thing I'll miss most is Isaac

because I love Isaac, he means everything to me.

It must be very daunting for a young teenager to suddenly uproot everything that you know.

She hasn't got the emotional stability as an adult would have.

Certainly with Amy, if she could maybe

think beyond that, the initial leaving her friends...

If she considered going,

she might look back and think, "Yes, it was a good move to do, or try."

I haven't really thought if she goes to Australia,

who'll do my washing.

I suppose I'll just have to learn.

I'm too young to be independent.

I understand you've got a lot of decisions to make,

some really difficult decisions but I'm sure you'll make the right ones.

We're here, no matter what.

I love you all. Take it easy.

I hope you make the right decision of going or not going,

and I'll see you when you get back home, to give Isaac a big hug.

I want you to really think hard about what you're going to do.

Listen to your head, maybe, and listen to your heart.

There's lots of decisions to be made and, just take your time over it

-and you'll come to the right decision, I know you will. I love you. Bye.

-Love you, too.

OK? No.

I still think my mum thinks I shouldn't go.

I know. I know.

If it was just you and I, then...

I can understand everybody saying we shouldn't go.

But we know why we're doing this and that's the thing. That's the thing.

I don't know, it's just a really...

A really tough decision.

The messages from their friends and family

rocked both Lois and Wayne.

When I stop and sit down...

..I don't cope.

And I think the opportunity that here offers the boys I think is phenomenal

and it's like I keep thinking to myself,

"That has to be the drive,"

because they are so, so important in all this

and I can't let what I'm feeling cloud that.

It doesn't work if Lois isn't happy, it doesn't.

Because she's a centrepiece.

I can't repair the situation with Amy, so I'd just look at it

and think either Lois is good with this or she's not. If she's not,

I'll support her in that situation and if she wants to go back, we go back and try something different.

That worries me for the boys, but if that's right for Lois, long-term, that's what we have to consider.

It's whether she genuinely believes that the boys are enough.

Whether that's enough for her to make that break.

It doesn't make it feel great.

It doesn't make it feel exciting like it should...

But I know the bigger picture,

like Michael said. My hopes and my fears, you have to balance them out.

And the fears are really fearful.

But my hopes are phenomenal.

My hopes are so exciting and so passionate, my hopes for my boys,

and for Amy are what drives me, definitely.

The Fosters' week down under had certainly been emotional,

and there was a huge amount for them to consider.

After seven eventful days,

the Fosters were at the end of their journey.

It started well when they discovered they could afford their ideal home on their budget.

But Lois was disappointed to find she wouldn't be able to work in her nursing role,

and that the equivalent job didn't pay as well.

And the dream of a new life was dealt another blow

when the valuation on their house came out much lower than expected.

-'That's 155,000.'

-That's low.

But beyond all of this was the issue of

whether Lois could leave her daughter, Amy, behind in the UK.

With such a massive decision facing them, which way did they vote?

We've had a fantastic week in Perth.

We've looked at some amazing houses.

We've met some really friendly people.

We've sampled the lifestyle, and we've seen the videos from our

family and friends and with all that in mind, we've come to our decision.

And it is...

-Australia.

-Australia.

I'm so glad you did.

I thought you wouldn't!

No, has to be.

After an emotional week of soul-searching,

the Fosters chose a new start down under,

and so, two years on, were they able to take that final step

and uproot their lives for good?

It's the middle of 2011, and the Fosters are living in...

Australia!

Lois and Wayne stuck by their final vote and emigrated ten months ago.

They have chosen the leafy suburbs,

but it's not in Perth, where they stayed during their trial week.

Now, they're on the outskirts of Melbourne.

As the second-largest city in Australia,

Lois and Wayne felt it had more to offer their family.

After we came to Perth, we then visited Melbourne for a week,

just to compare the two cities.

But I just loved Melbourne - had a lot more job opportunities,

had a lot more things going on, so we chose Melbourne in the end.

The Fosters are still exploring where they might settle,

but until then, they're renting in the suburb of Cranbourne.

With shops, schools and large parks all close by,

it's an ideal location.

Which is just as well, because for the first few weeks,

there wasn't much in their home.

For about, what, a month and a half, we just had eight suitcases,

and that's it, of all your belongings.

Had a great time on the eight suitcases,

but eventually you do want your own things around you,

and when that day came and the container turned up here,

and we obviously got all our stuff back, that was a fantastic occasion.

It was like Christmas.

It was just so nice to see your house here.

-It was just lovely, it was just really nice.

-Mm.

With this spacious three-bedroom house,

they have everything they need from a family home.

However, they are still missing one very important piece of the family jigsaw.

Amy.

In 2009, Lois's 15-year-old daughter didn't want to join them

in Australia, and is now living with family friends in Derby.

People couldn't understand the family dynamics,

where I would let Amy make that decision

as much as she wanted to, really.

And it's like I've said to friends,

I loved her enough to let her make that choice,

and as a parent, sometimes you have to be around

and let them make the decisions, the mistakes and pick up the pieces and be there afterwards.

So she's gone to college.

She's gone to college to do business. I don't think she's enjoying it,

cos she's wanted to be a hairdresser since she was three.

So she's now changing her path into the apprenticeship route.

And then hopefully she's coming out here at the end of the year

and then maybe sample some apprenticeships out here,

have six weeks' stay, see what she thinks.

Put your hands on your chin.

'Lois has been fantastic.

'She's putting on a really brave face.'

And day-to-day, that is the genuine face

of the woman I love and married.

But I also know that she's got this daily battle that she has to have

with not having her daughter here. I can't change that,

but it's an acceptance that that'll always be the case.

Lois speaks to Amy every day on the Internet and phone,

and she's reassured by what she hears.

She's grown up a lot.

She's grown up an awful lot, and it's been fantastic to see

the maturity in her, because of the decisions she's making

and the growth that that's given her, so, yeah, it's been amazing.

It's been hard, it's been very, very hard

and there's been a lot of tears

and, you know, I'm just more content, I'm happier.

Whereas before, when we first came, it was emotional.

Very emotional and very tough.

At the end of their first visit, leaving Amy wasn't the only barrier they had to overcome.

Their financial situation looked very bleak.

Their UK home was worth less than they'd hoped for,

-and Australian prices seemed high.

-That's a lot.

Looking at that as a snapshot, Australia is more expensive in terms of living costs.

And Lois's earning potential was limited.

I love the sound of the job, it sounds amazing,

but I think, financially, it wouldn't support our family.

So how did they manage to resolve their money worries?

After an hour's daily commute, Lois arrives at her new job,

right in the centre of Melbourne.

I work at a primary health service

in the middle of Melbourne City Centre.

It's for primarily people with drug and alcohol problems,

who may be homeless or live in temporary accommodation.

And they can come in and sit in the open space

and access health care at the same time,

and I work alongside three GPs, and it's great.

Morning. You all right?

It's a break from Lois's UK job as a nurse practitioner,

but as the main visa applicant, she had little choice.

My role in the UK doesn't exist here at all.

I've had to have a real career change,

because some of the qualifications I got in the UK

that took a long time to get, I can't transfer here -

I have to go through, like, a recognised learning, prior learning.

And that in itself takes time,

cos the pathway is being redesigned in the nursing board.

It took me seven months,

seven months to get my nursing registration transferred.

But despite having had to make a career change,

Lois seems won over by her new role, and the Aussie approach to work.

Because we have young people come in who can be drug-affected,

substance-affected, sometimes they're at risk of overdose.

And yesterday was an example of that -

a friend brought his friend in, who had been substance-affected,

and his breathing was so slow,

it was possible that if I didn't call an ambulance and get him seen,

he was going to have what we call a respiratory arrest,

and overdose, so it was a highly-strung, emotional day

yesterday looking after them.

And that doesn't happen very often, but luckily,

because of the environment I work in and the colleagues I work with,

we're all very calm and very controlled, and it just really helps.

And we're all really supportive afterwards and have a debrief,

which really helps.

They're more easy-going here, a lot more easy-going -

they're not so stressed, it doesn't seem so...

There's not as many sick days, either.

What I've found is people don't take sick

like they do in the UK - you'd have a duvet day.

And they don't do that here.

No, people just don't randomly go off sick.

I think it's a different lifestyle. I think it affects people differently.

However, with Lois having to add two hours' commuting

to her working day, their family life is far from ideal.

Come on, I'll do some toast. We'll just all eat some toast, OK?

'Lois used to finish at five o'clock and be home for five,

'and now she's finishing and getting home for seven,

'and we try to get the boys in bed for half seven,'

there or thereabouts, so she has a quick bit of time with them,

putting them to bed, reading them a story.

I know that that probably plays on her mind a bit in the week itself.

We're trying to change that,

we're looking at where we want to live as we go forward,

trying to make that commute a lot shorter,

so we can build the quality back in in the weekdays.

Wayne had wanted a change from his job as a security manager.

And, recently, he's managed to do just that.

You probably would look at it as being a prison officer,

but we're linked to the court system as well,

so we take prisoners from various prisons all over Melbourne

and then they get deposited into our facility

and we look after them until they go into court

and they either get sentenced, bailed, all that stuff.

Then we take them back into the system and they get bailed

or they go and get remanded or whatever.

So it's a challenge for me to get used to that,

but I've been in the job now for six months,

so it's just trying to manoeuvre a career out of it realistically.

For Lois and Wayne, the biggest reason to emigrate

was to give their boys a better quality of life.

The abundance of parks and nature reserves in the area

seems to suit all the Fosters.

Ssh! Be quiet now!

Ssh!

'The boys love it here, they absolutely love it.

'And when I said we were coming this afternoon, they got so excited.'

SHE CLICKS HER TONGUE

There's a baby kangaroo.

'I love places like this, cos it's just...

'It's all Australian natural wildlife, it's all local.

'It's just lovely, it's just so natural.

'It's just great for the children to see and appreciate'

their new natural wildlife.

-I want to feed him!

-You want to feed that one?

-Yeah.

There you go.

Until I found this little gem,

I didn't realise we could get quite close

and really teach and educate the children,

one, to be respectful of animals

but really appreciate the new natural wildlife.

Wayne and Lois also felt that Australia

would give the children a brighter future

and, although it's early days,

they're pleased with what they found.

People will judge us on the next ten years with the children.

If they turn out to be scallywags, I'll kill 'em!

But in terms of just being here and not there with them,

I think there's more opportunity here for them.

That's his leg.

'What we talked about in England is sometimes you feel,

'depending on where you live, your children have a label'

before they've even achieved anything

or been anywhere, and that was very apparent.

So I think, coming here, there's not that same...

prejudice.

It's more cosmopolitan... in the right sense. It's not...

It's not ghettoised, it's not... People stick together here.

You live on an estate.

It's very mixed on the estate where you live, so it's...

There's things here that we've seen that are positive.

PARROT SQUAWKS Oh, dear! Oh, noisy bird!

There's a kookaburra.

And it's not just about days out.

Jackson, Elliott and Isaac

have benefited from their change in lifestyle.

They're a lot more active, they've learnt to ride their bikes,

they want to be out more, they're asking all the time to come out more,

because there's just so many nice parks

and so many nice things to do that they ask, every spare minute, "Can we go out and play?"

-Cool.

-Big bumps!

In terms of the lifestyle here,

we haven't scratched the surface here, and we're having a good time,

a really good time, and we know that gets better.

We're just about going into our first summer.

We've got cars, we can get where we want to go,

all these places people are telling us, "You must go here, must go there."

It's just a big list that we can just start ticking off.

And it's made the pain of emigrating to the other side of the world

that much easier.

I never doubted, ever once, even through all the heartache

and the tears and the trauma...

I never once ever doubted it, even with the move

and missing everybody and it being really, really hard,

I still feel that this is the right thing

and it is the right thing for all of my children.

THE CHILDREN LAUGH

There's no doubt that moving to another country

without once of your children is a tough choice to make.

But with the Fosters enjoying their new lives in Melbourne,

the future looks bright for the whole family.

We wish them the very best of luck.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd