Buchanan Wanted Down Under Revisited

Convincing the people you love to emigrate can be a very tough job,

especially if they have serious doubts.

And back in 2011, the Buchanan family faced a choice

that could have split the family apart.

So one year on, where are they now?

The Buchanan's ideal Aussie home turned out to be a nightmare.

Oh, God, there's a cockroach.

-It's horrible.

-Yeah.

Their daughter was torn by the idea of moving.

I suppose, one way or another,

one parent's going to be heartbroke.

And their friends didn't want them to leave.

It's going to just break my heart to say goodbye to them.

So one year later, were they able to hold on to their hopes

of starting a new life Down Under?

In 2011, the Buchanan family faced a huge decision -

whether to leave their home and loved ones behind

for a new start in Australia.

We gave them a week to experience the reality of living Down Under.

Today, we'll find out what's happened since we last met.

The Buchanans' journey from Scotland to Queensland

was a massive 10,000 miles and 24 hours.

It had already got them worried about what they were taking on.

It was tough.

I don't think we could get used to that.

Nobody could get used to that.

If we make the decision to stay here,

-then I think the visits back home would be limited.

-Yeah.

Luckily it was only a short trip from the airport

to their base for the week.

Back in the UK, the Buchanans lived in Armadale,

a small town near Edinburgh.

There was Angie and husband Jason,

along with Angie's son Jordan, who at the time was 18,

her daughter Sophie, who was 13,

and their baby son Jay, who was two.

They'd been married for six years,

but since the beginning, Jason had one dream for the family.

I visited Australia about nine years ago,

and ever since I met Angie I've wanted to go back.

Unfortunately for Jason, Angie had very different ideas

about where their future lay.

I've never fancied going.

I've always been -

I'm Scottish, I stay in Scotland.

This is where all my roots are.

I like being a mum,

having foundations for a family,

whereas Jason would pack his bags and go tomorrow.

However, concerns about the children's future

had pushed Angie to finally consider Australia.

We believe, after hours and hours of discussion,

that it would be best for all of us in the family,

in particular Jordan.

I think Jordan would benefit the most out of everybody.

18-year-old Jordan had several disabilities that needed extra care.

Jason and Angie believed that a move to Australia

could improve his life dramatically.

Jordan flourishes in the summer.

If we go on holiday, Jordan becomes a different boy altogether.

The weather affects his joints and stuff like that,

so his mobility, his posture.

He really finds it difficult here.

When it comes to wintertime,

Jordan basically hibernates in a room in winter.

We believe he has more potential than sitting in a room.

Angie may have had her doubts,

but it was her daughter Sophie who was most worried about moving.

Out of the whole family she stood to lose the most.

I don't fancy living in Australia at all.

My biggest fear would be I would never see my little sisters,

or my dad, or my friends, or stuff, ever again.

So it would be quite upsetting to leave them, and stuff.

It's hard, because I don't want Sophie leaving her family,

her dad and her sisters, and the step family.

But the thing with Sophie is, I'm trying to better her life for her,

give her more opportunities.

And I think when we go to Australia she'll flourish.

So I need to make sure that Sophie's OK going to Australia.

With a close family network,

Angie and Jason were also aware of what they would be giving up.

My biggest concern would be leaving my mum.

We see her almost daily.

Not only am I leaving her, but taking her grandkids away as well.

Half of me feels that I should stay for family ties.

My family mean the world to me.

I have daily contact with them.

I know they'll visit,

but it's not the same as seeing them week-to-week.

They had finally decided to give Australia a try.

But with only one week to persuade his family,

Jason knew the pressure was on.

It's the two girls that we have to convince,

to ensure this goes through, Sophie and Angie.

Jason would be there tomorrow. It's his dream.

But at the end of the day, it's not just Jason's choice.

It's Jordan and Sophie and Jay's as well.

It's a family thing.

For their week in Australia,

the Buchanans were staying in the Redcliffe area,

20 miles north of Brisbane.

Their base was a traditional Queenslander timber house.

As it was Angie and the children's first experience of living

in Australia, Jason knew it needed to make a good impression.

Oh, this is big, Jay.

Oh, this is a dining room.

Oh, this is Jay's room.

Oh, let me see.

Cool.

And that is Jordie's bed. This is bigger than your room, isn't it?

-Aye.

-Cool.

That all sounded positive.

But once they'd had a chance to unpack,

there were a few second thoughts.

First impressions of the house, very old-fashioned,

definitely wouldn't be something that we would look at.

Since we've got here it's not really blown me away

as much as I thought it would.

So I hope it opens up to me during the week.

And after the first night, things had gone from bad to worse.

When we came in yesterday, I don't think either one of us

were completely happy with the house.

But it just got worse, behind the surface the house was disgusting.

We saw a mouse and that kind of scared me.

So, like, as far as it goes for me,

I'm not convinced at all that I would like to live here.

It wasn't the best start to the Buchanans' week,

and a blow for Jason's hopes of convincing them to emigrate.

Hopefully a rapid relocation to a modern apartment free of visitors

and right next to the beach would help raise everyone's spirits.

This is nice.

This is much better.

Back in the UK, the family lived in a modern five-bedroom home.

It was their pride and joy

and they had strong ideas

about what houses Down Under would need to offer.

We need a four-bedroom house

because of the different ages of the kids.

Hopefully a newer-build house.

The dream is to go there and have a nice standard of living,

which in the first place equates to a nice house.

They thought their house was worth around £180,000,

and they could have a budget of £250,000,

but they knew that finding somewhere they could all be happy with

wouldn't be easy.

We arranged to give the Buchanans a taste of Brisbane's housing market.

We showed them three typical options

based upon what they wanted from their ideal home,

what they could afford,

and the real price of property Down Under.

After seeing what was on offer,

we revealed to them just how much each house cost.

The first stop was at this four-bedroom house in Scarborough,

20 miles north of Brisbane.

It was close to the beach and shops,

but in need of renovation,

which should have meant it was good value for money.

Did the Buchanans like it?

What's this? Ooh!

A big cockroach up there.

Eew! That's not a good start to any house viewing.

It's horrible.

Oh, God, there is a cockroach!

This is the living area.

Living area?!

It's just strange, I cannae get my head round it.

It wasn't any better upstairs,

but Jason did have an idea on how to improve things.

If anything was to be done with this house,

I think it needs knocked down... and rebuilt.

What about little Jay? He seemed pretty relaxed?

-Do you like this house?

-No.

OK, then. This house was definitely not the starched Jason wanted

and that was before they'd even found out its price.

Was their budget of £250,000

enough to cover the property and renovation costs?

-No way.

-£217,000.

-No chance.

-No chance.

Totally surprised how much this is valued.

I just think it's so run-down.

You'd need to spend that to get it up to the standard.

It might have been affordable,

but this house has got Jason's dream off to the worst possible start.

The second house, also in Scarborough,

had four bedrooms and was close to the waterfront.

For Jason, it really needed to impress.

Look at that, Jay!

SHE GASPS Wow!

-This is more like what we were... looking for.

-I love it.

The pool was an ideal start, but they had yet to set foot indoors.

-That's nice.

-This is lovely.

-Oh, wow, look at that.

-The layout's spot-on.

-It's lovely.

-It's lovely.

-Absolutely love it.

I love the ceiling.

I love the windows.

Just the whole layout is perfect.

This was music to Jason's ears.

Is this Jordie's room?

We'd need to get this decorated for you, wouldn't we?

You'd get everything in here.

Do you think this would be the perfect size for you?

This house had done a far better job of impressing the Buchanans

than the first,

but did its price keep up the good work?

So this is the price of this house.

Ready?

£365,000.

-I would say that was definitely...

-Worth it.

-..at the very limit

of what we could afford...I think.

It looked like Jason's hopes of moving his family were on the up,

but the price wasn't ideal.

Could the final house convince everyone without breaking the bank?

It was a four-bedroom new-build in North Lakes,

slightly closer to central Brisbane, but as it was 15 minutes inland,

it should have offered more value for money.

This is lovely. But I cannot see how we could afford this.

-Wow.

-Love it.

-This is nice.

This is nice.

And for me, this ticks all the boxes.

This would be my dream home. There's a pool.

-Never mind the pool, look at the barbecue.

-Unbelievable.

Mum and Dad were convinced, but did the rest of the family agree?

I think I would consider moving... if this was our house.

Much to Jason's relief,

this house seem to offer everything the Buchanans wanted.

But was the dream house just that,

or could it be a real possibility?

350,000. It's cheaper.

I can't believe that this is cheaper than the other house.

It's kind of shocked me.

With this being more modern, newer,

I thought it would be more expensive.

That was great news for Jason's dream,

but at £100,000 over budget, it came with a big price tag.

The Buchanans had seen three different properties

and after a disappointing start to the day,

what was their verdict now on houses in Australia?

Australia.

Well done.

In the UK, Angie was working in social care,

but she wanted to get back to her original profession

if they moved to Australia.

Ideally, my main aim is to go back into children's nursing,

because I'm a qualified children's nurse.

It was Angie's qualifications that held the key to getting a visa,

but she knew that moving would involve a sacrifice from her

to afford the lifestyle they wanted.

I don't want to be working full-time.

But I do understand that I might have to

for the sake of the children.

But in an ideal world,

two days a week would be great, to go back into nursing.

The whole move rested on her shoulders,

so we arranged for Angie to visit Brisbane's Redcliffe Hospital

to get a feel for working in Australia.

-Hiya.

-Hello, I'm Emma from paediatrics. How are you doing?

-Nervous.

-You'll be all right.

Come with me, we'll go up to the children's ward.

While Angie got to see the hospital,

Jason took the children to the park.

If they did emigrate,

he'd look after them while they settled before finding work.

Back home, I own my own business,

dealing with office technology.

In particular, photocopiers, printers and scanners.

However, coming to Australia, at this stage,

I wouldn't have any ambition

to start up my own company coming over here.

I think it would be wise to find employment

and see where that goes.

Back on the ward, Emma was putting Angie's bedside manner to the test.

Did she still have what it takes?

I might just introduce you to Callum.

Hiya. And what did you do?

-Someone fell on top of me.

-Can we see your arm?

-Wow.

-Your friends wrote on it?

-Yes.

While Angie was back in a familiar routine,

Sophie was thinking about a new life

and what that could mean in Australia.

It's been really good since we're here, surprisingly.

I didn't think it would be as good as it has been.

I think the thing that's most pushed me towards Australia now

is just being here and experiencing it for yourself,

it's not like a holiday, it's actually somewhere you could live.

But she still had a long way to go

before she could choose where her future lay.

I think the hardest thing for me would be leaving my dad

and my sisters and my stepmum, and I think...

I try not to think about it, to be honest.

Back at the hospital, Angie was getting down to business with Emma.

At home I work part-time, so what is the vacancies for part-time staff?

-Most of my staff are part-time.

-Oh, right.

It's the minority that are full-time.

So it's a great work-life balance.

Are there vacancies available?

We don't have any vacancies at the moment,

but with six beds opening at the beginning of next year,

I'll have eight full-time positions.

Thank you. When it comes to salaries, what is, like, a full-time employee

and what's the part-time?

Depending on your experience

and where you would sit on the pay scale,

as a registered nurse, you could earn anywhere from 58,000-78,000,

at the top end of the scale.

That's great.

Jason wouldn't want to work if that was the case.

That definitely sounded like good news.

It meant she could have a starting pay of £37,000

if she was prepared to work full-time.

Today's been very, very positive.

I feel a lot calmer, a bit excited actually, to be honest with you.

Angie's prospects looked good, so how did she vote?

Australia.

For me, as the main applicant,

I feel that I've got no worries getting a job.

It's been a very pleasant experience today.

Back in the UK, Jason and Angie lived in a five-bedroom house,

which they had lovingly renovated.

They believed it was worth £180,000

and would need to raise every penny they could towards the move.

We sent round two estate agents

to get us their opinion on their house in Armadale.

Whose house is that?

Very nice room.

One decorative wall, which is quite loud, not everyone's taste,

but that can be changed.

Ha!

Bedroom on the lower level, that's always handy to have.

It's been a garage conversion,

which does add value to your property.

Shh! Wallpaper. Let's see.

Good-sized room. Nice, tasteful decoration.

It's not cluttered at all.

-What room are we going up to now?

-Wow.

This is lovely.

-Thank you.

-Justin fan, obviously.

Even on the light switch! Amazing.

In the current market,

there are quite a few on the market in the area

and there is a bit of competition for the property.

But typically,

I would expect it to sell for £170,000-£175,000.

In my opinion, I reckon this house should achieve about 185.

About 180,000 for a quick sale.

That should be achievable at a fixed price.

That was more or less what they expected,

but even if they used all their savings and equity

on the move to Australia, was it going to be enough?

We prepared a breakdown of their everyday living costs

to see if they could afford the life they dreamt of Down Under.

Look at the size of the mortgage.

Mortgage repayments, 1,811.

So the mortgage payment has doubled.

So in terms of outgoings,

we're just slightly more than we would be back home.

However, our salaries have increased quite substantially,

which means we're far better off here.

-We're quids in.

-Quids in.

We were thinking possibly when it came to the calculations,

everything, putting it together, we were a bit worried, or apprehensive.

That it wouldn't go our way, and that we wouldn't have the opportunity.

And that might be the first thing

that would put some doubt in our minds,

whether it was the right move or not.

But...it's went the other way, to be honest.

Angie and Jason had worked out

they would be a lot better off in Australia

if they both worked full-time,

so how did they vote?

Australia.

Australia.

Jason and Angie hope that Australia would offer Jordan

the independence and outdoor life he thrived in.

I think both of us firmly believe Jordan's got more potential in him.

But I think that the two of us would like Jordan to have a wee job.

Have his own life.

He is kind of secluded to his wee self

and he doesn't have any communications with anybody.

And as a mum it's worrying,

because you don't want everything that you've done for your son,

for him to waste away.

So we arranged for them to visit Cascade Place,

a day centre for adults with a range of disabilities.

-Welcome, guys.

-Hi there, how are you doing? I'm Jason.

-G'day, Jason.

-This is Jordan.

-G'day, Jordan. How are you, mate?

Come on through, guys. Welcome.

This is nice and colourful.

Everything that you see in this room here has been made here

by the artists of the place.

So I'll take him for a bit of a wander through the building

and show you some of the ways we do it

and a couple of the other things that we've got.

Through here, we have a recording studio,

-where we have Chris and Kieran and Jeremy.

-Hey, guys.

Jordan, I know you're interested in music.

There was a whole range of activities

that Jordan could pick from whenever he wanted.

This dress pattern actually was donated to us,

the pattern itself, but we make the inserts, they're all unique.

Everything that's made here, you can't reproduce it,

so all the guys here, and others on other days,

make that insert and we sew it here

and we sell them all.

We have exhibitions at galleries on a regular basis,

but we also have arrangements with local coffee shops

and places on the waterfront,

where they're happy to display it and sell it for us.

But it wasn't just about arts and crafts for Jordan,

Angie and Jason's dream was for him to become more independent.

All I've ever wanted was for Jordan to be seen as a person,

not as a figure or a number, or just somebody with special needs.

But be identified as Jordan.

Geoff Trappett from Queensland Cerebral Palsy League,

was able to address their concerns.

What's really important for us is how we can progress Jordan

and find the right activities or workshops

that's going to take him into adulthood.

It's about building those skills up

-to be able to move on to the next age.

-Definitely.

Do you get involved in employment opportunities for them?

Our job is to help Jordan with whatever his goals are.

So if that's to get work, then that's what we can work on.

It all sounded really positive, but Jason had one final question.

Would yous assist in getting Jordan a girlfriend?

-That would be easy, I reckon!

-No!

No, thank you.

We might have a conversation without Mum around, hey?

Erm...

Had the Buchanans heard enough?

I was really impressed with the centre

and what they've got to offer children like Jordan

and actually believe that what they're trying to promote

that they really do promote it.

-I think Jordan would really benefit.

-I feel a lot better.

I feel a lot more confident.

From one association that we've spoken to,

I think Jordan would excel.

That seems to have answered a lot of Angie's concerns

and Jason's dream of Australia seemed one step closer.

Before their final vote,

the family had to face the reality

of leaving behind the people they loved.

While little Jay had a nap,

they watched some messages from friends and family back home.

-Hi, guys.

-Hello, guys. Hope you're having a great time in Australia.

Angie and Jason are made for each other,

they totally bounce off each other.

Every weekend they've always got a plan for the kids.

Every weekend.

Not just the school holidays.

They're lovely kids.

It's going to just break my heart to say goodbye to them.

If you do decide to move to Australia, I will miss you loads,

because we've been friends for so many years

and all the stuff we've been through,

all the laughs and all the sad bits that we've had

and I'll really miss them, and I'll really miss you too.

If you do decide to go,

It's going to rip us up a bit,

because you're my wee sister.

My nephew, my nieces,

it's just going to kind of rip us up a little bit.

I think they're doing the right thing.

I know for a fact he loves me to bits.

Just as long as they're happy, that's all that matters.

Jason, I've always said to you,

if an opportunity comes up in any way,

go for it, and I still say, "Go for it."

I think it's the best decision the two of you could make

for the family and you.

Do you want a cuddle, Jordan?

It has been made a lot more real that we might actually go.

We'll just need to wait and see.

Seeing messages from home was painful

and with Angie and Sophie falling for Australia,

had it put the move back in the balance?

Even Jason was starting to have doubts.

I've always been the one driving this,

but it's been pretty overwhelming this week, thinking, you know,

reality is starting to kick in.

And obviously I'm leaving my mum...

which is going to be tough,

especially with the age she's at.

For Angie, the week had shown her

what Australia could mean for Jordan.

The last few days, Jordan's just excelled

in his personality and talking to people and just...

He's just fascinated with what's going on around about him.

And it's great.

But she knew the final decision was going to be far from simple.

This week's experience has kind of turned everybody's life upside down.

From a family's point of view,

this is going to be one of the toughest decisions we've got to make,

because it's not just me and Jason's choice.

It was time for the Buchanans to make their final vote.

It's been a great week, lots of new experiences,

loads of vital information,

and we're now ready to vote UK or Australia.

-Australia.

-Australia.

I'm not sure.

Four out of five ain't bad.

Having faced the ups and downs of life in Australia,

it seemed the move wasn't quite in the bag.

'A few weeks after the Buchanans returned from Australia,

'I went to see if anything had changed.

'First, I caught up with Sophie.'

So, Sophie, for you it is different,

because you do have your dad back in Scotland with your stepmum

and your sisters as well, who I know you're very close to.

-And it hasn't been easy, has it?

-No, it hasn't been easy at all.

It's horrible for me

having to decide if I should leave them or leave my other family,

and it's just horrible thinking about it

and it did make me feel really guilty.

But then I think I would benefit a lot from going over there.

Since I've been back, they're like,

"No, you should go, because it's better."

You've got their blessing, which is so, so important.

So if I gave you a flag now, which way would you vote?

I think I would vote Australia.

-Yeah?

-Yeah.

If your mum and stepdad could hear you now, they'd be cheering!

And speaking of Angie and Jason, they had some news too,

but this time it wasn't so positive.

There's been a few things popped up,

that maybe we were slightly naive before we went.

Such as?

The biggest thing that we overlooked

-was the concerns of getting a visa for Jordan.

-Right.

To cut a long story short,

it seems it's going to be very, very difficult

to obtain a visa for Jordan

due to his learning difficulties.

If anything was to happen to myself or Angie when we we're in Australia,

the first question the Australian government are going to ask is,

-"Could Jordan live independently?"

-Right.

So we're striving the now to push him forward

to do the daily living skills,

giving him the responsibility of making food,

washing, domestic stuff.

So Jordan knows that for him to go to Australia, he needs to work hard too.

We've always believed that Jordan has the potential

to live independently in the future and things like that.

-So this has just maybe been a big push.

-Push for us, yeah.

So it is difficult... we've got to be honest,

to secure a visa for someone like Jordan,

-but you think you can overcome that?

-Yeah, absolutely.

We still firmly believe we've got a chance of getting to Australia.

We would like to be in Australia by next summer.

With everyone finally on board, the Buchanans were determined

to press on with their Australian dream.

But, one year later, was it any closer to becoming a reality?

It's June 2012 and Jason, Angie, Jay, Jordan and Sophie

are living in...

..Scotland.

Although still in the UK, the whole family are now working together

to face the challenges and make the move to Australia.

The Buchanans fell in love with the dream of a new life Down Under,

with benefits for everyone.

Within day two, Angie said to me she wanted to move to Australia,

which was pretty surprising.

Um...I always knew Angie would take to it and like it.

But I didn't think it would be that fast.

'Angie's really driving it now.

'It was always my dream.

'It's as much Angie's dream now as it is mine.'

'When we first went to Australia, it was just everything was bright,

'everything was happy, people were happy.

'I mean, the lifestyle's so different to what we've got.

'The people are just so relaxed.'

There didn't seem to be any...

negativity towards Jordan's learning disabilities.

You don't get people staring and making comments

and I think for me, as a mum,

seeing Jordan being able to just walk down the street was quite a thing,

and people not always pointing or staring, it's just great,

because he's a wee individual, just like everybody else.

-SOPHIE:

-'When we first got to Australia, I was quite nervous.

'But after a few days of being there, I started to really like it.'

I think there was a lot of pressure when I first got there,

because I knew how much Jason wanted to go.

But I think being there and looking at it,

I think it was better for me, personally.

The family have faced many obstacles over the past year,

but are more determined than ever and refuse to give up now.

When we initially found out about the visa

and Jordan maybe not being eligible, we were all just a bit shocked.

-Um...

-Crushed.

-But we immediately...

We started looking into it.

We looked elsewhere, at different websites, different forums,

taking advice and things.

It's still not clear-cut, still not 100%.

But we don't see any reason why, you know,

even if, initially, Jordan got rejected on medical grounds.

There's ways around it.

Yeah, you just have to keep challenging them.

Jordan has also been working hard to help the family move Down Under.

He's taken some positive steps by learning new skills

that he could use in Australia.

'Since we came back from Australia, Jordan's done a college course

'and it's to promote his independence.

'It is not so much on the academic side, it's more personal skills,

'learning about money, computer awareness.

'He's very...computer aware.'

-'Cooking.

-Cooking, which he loves.

'Photography is one of his new skills that he's learned.'

But also just...

socialising, they do a lot of social activities together.

-'And the class is a nice size.

-Yeah.

'I think a lot of it's promoting his confidence,

'his self-confidence, his speaking to other people,

'in addition to learning independent living skills.'

'He's doing a project just now.'

And he's doing his on Australia. So he's coming home and he's asking.

'So that's nice, that he's coming in and saying, "Mum...

' "Where did we go? What was that called?"

'Before, we never got that.'

And the benefits are clear to see for the family.

He's also started a volunteer job on a Friday.

And...he just comes...

He's only there for an hour or two and he comes home

and he just springs into the house and he's got these big, shiny eyes.

Um, and he loves it, he absolutely loves it.

'It's been brilliant, seeing Jordan starting a job,

'albeit it's only for a few hours at this stage,

'because it just backs up our initial thoughts

'that Jordan could keep learning and progressing.'

It's great to see and, you know, we're not going to stop at that.

We're going to keep pushing him and pushing him,

so hopefully he can just continue to develop.

-My boy's grown up!

-Yep.

As the main visa applicant, it was Angie's skills

as a paediatric nurse that would provide the family with a visa.

She needed to complete a course in order for this to happen.

I've done my Return To Nursing, which included an essay

and 150 hours of practical on a ward, a children's ward.

I've also had to keep on my own job.

So it's been pretty tough going.

The main things that kept me going is the fact that

I genuinely want to go back to nursing,

whether it was here or in Australia.

But just to have the fact that... this is for Australia, um...

and that I would be the main applicant

and hopefully secure a job, no bother, for the five of us.

Um...that's what gave me my drive.

The quickest way to get to Australia would be the sponsored visa.

Once we find a sponsor, the process can be turned around in ten days.

That sounds like a big ask, which I know it is.

However, with the work that we've done,

we've found out that there is a lot of hospitals looking for nurses.

Jason is also doing his bit.

He's decorating the house, ready to put it on the market,

and is planning a trip to Australia to look for work and a new home.

I've spoken to several companies in Brisbane and Sydney and even Perth,

in terms of recruitment and I've had quite good feedback from that.

Hence, I've got half a dozen job interviews in two weeks' time,

when I go over to Australia,

in the same line of work that I do just now,

so office technology - photocopiers, printers, that type of thing.

Um, but if I get there and, you know...

I see something else, I'd be quite open for that.

And it's not just finding work that's keeping the Buchanans busy.

There are many elements involved in moving your family

to the other side of the world.

'The plans for the next few months doesn't get any easier.

'We've got a house to decorate, we've got to get the house up on sale.'

We'll have medicals.

We'll have English tests.

So the next few months is just putting our head down

and working even harder than what we have for the last three months.

Jason is tying up loose ends in the UK,

their much-loved house being one of them.

He's meeting with Sheena Cunningham,

who valued the house originally, to discuss their options.

How can I help you?

Just really want to find out would it be better to sell

-or would it be better to hang out and rent the property?

-OK.

How much time have you got? Have you got a date for going away?

-No, not yet.

-You don't, OK.

But we're hoping in the next two or three months.

We certainly could sell your house, I don't know how long that would take.

But you have got time on your hands.

Or, indeed, we could look at a rental for you.

And that's certainly another good option.

In terms of renting,

would you have any idea of what we'd be able to achieve?

Yeah, for your property, we'd be looking at £900 per month.

If they can't sell the UK home, then renting is a possibility,

and they have their eye on a familiar property in Australia.

We look at houses every second day on the internet,

so we've got a fair idea of what we want, what we can afford.

And, in fact, the second house that we looked at

when we were in Australia, we found out it was still up for sale.

And when I visit Australia in a couple of weeks' time,

I'm going to go and speak to the owner

and see if he would be interested in renting it to us

for the first six months to a year.

Although the Buchanans are full steam ahead on the move,

Sophie has always been the one with the most doubts.

Sophie's still in the kind of, "Are we going? When? Maybe. If."

But I think, until something is in concrete or a date's set,

then Sophie will not really take to...that she's going.

When we came back, I did really want...

Like, I fell in love with Australia and I really did want to go back.

But I think the reality of it has sunk in when we did get back.

I've just kind of been a bit on edge since.

My main worry is just my wee sisters, my dad, stepmum

and my friends and people back here, you know?

It's quite scary to think about leaving them all.

She's been spending a lot of time with her dad and her sisters.

Because, obviously, they know that there is a only a limited time

that we're going to be here. Um...

And no doubt she will be very sad when she leaves.

My dad and my sisters and my stepmum have been really good about it,

telling me I should go for it,

but my wee sister's, like, she's just that age

when she's kind of realising what's happening

and she does say stuff like, "Don't go,"

but I suppose she'll just need to...

Like, if I do go, I just need to keep lots of contact.

It will be difficult for her, I'm sure it will be sad,

but we'll just need to be there and support her through that,

you know, that initial week or month, whatever it takes.

It's going to completely change my life,

everything from the wee-est to the biggest things,

it's just going to change it completely.

Whether that be in a good way or a bad way, I don't know yet!

Leaving friends and family was always going to be hard,

but for Jason, things were made even more difficult

after some terrible news.

Last November, my mum was watching the kids, Jordan and Jay, overnight,

and she's just suddenly become unwell and, a day later, died.

So that was all, you know, really sudden, that that happened

and, obviously, had a horrendous effect on us all.

Jason was heartbroken.

But it's just...

It's just given us a kind of nod on the head, almost as if...

Australia's what we're supposed to be doing,

because there's nothing to stop us, there's nobody holding us back.

For Jason, it was a devastating blow,

but he has since learned to take positives from it.

With my mum dying, it meant that...

..on a personal basis, I didn't have anything left, family-wise, here.

Um...

So, you know, once we...

..moved on from that, there was no...

there was going to be no emotional ties for me left in Scotland.

Obviously, I do have aunties and uncles that I'm close to,

but again they support us all the way anyway.

It was great, knowing that my mum gave us the full backing

to go to Australia,

should we have wished to do that, when she was alive.

So that was reassuring, anyway.

And my mum always said that anyway,

if we're going to go and it was going to better our lives

and especially the kids' lives, then we should go for it,

so that was good to know.

Each one of the Buchanan family are working hard

to reach their goal of a new life in Australia.

And, working together, the dream is in sight.

'The future for us is...

'The way I see it, in ten years' time, Jay, Jordan and Sophie

'will be fully-fledged Australian citizens, as we will be.'

Jay running up and down the beach, Jordy selling his cakes at the shop.

Sophie married to a surfer dude.

'And we'll be sampling the life that we've dreamed of in Australia.

'We can think of nothing that would stop us going to Australia.

'And we believe that every one of us, individually, it will benefit.

'If you were to turn around and say,'

"We'll not be there until next year or six months down the line,"

that would probably be really disappointing.

'We want to go in the next two or three months.'

'I'm not going to say...'

going to Australia, and deciding to emigrate is easy

and just a walk in the park, it's not.

There's ups and downs and roundabouts, but...

..it's full steam ahead for us and that's it!

So, after some tough times at home,

the Buchanans still had their sights set on moving down under.

And I wonder if next time we meet them,

it'll be on the other side of the world.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd