Buchanan Family Wanted Down Under Revisited

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

Especially if they have serious doubts.

Back in 2011,

the Buchanan family faced a choice that could have split them apart.

So two years on, where are they now?

When the Buchanans visited Australia in 2011,

things did not go exactly to plan.

And it started with the properties.

-Oh, God, there's a cockroach!

-It's horrible.

-Yeah.

Angie's daughter Sophie was torn at the idea of leaving her dad.

I think the most hardest thing for me

would be leaving my dad and my sisters and my stepmum.

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

When we last saw them a year ago,

eldest son Jordan's disabilities had raised visa issues

and they were still in the UK.

When we initially found out about the visa,

Jordan maybe not being eligible,

we were obviously a bit shocked.

So one year on, are they any closer to starting a new life down under?

Two years ago,

the Buchanan family faced a huge decision -

whether to leave their home and loved ones behind in the UK

for a new start in Australia.

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

and then caught up with them a year later.

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

In 2011, it took the Buchanans 24 hours

to make the journey from Scotland to Australia.

Plenty of time for them to think about

what they were about to take 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.

But regardless of the long journey,

the family were looking forward to the week ahead.

Back in the UK, the Buchanans were living in Armadale,

a small town near Edinburgh.

There was Angie and husband Jason,

along with Angie's son Jordan, who was 18,

her daughter Sophie, who was 13,

and their baby son Jay, who was two.

They had been married for six years

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

I visited Australia about nine years ago

and ever since I've 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 your 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's disabilities require extra care.

Jason and Angie believe that a move to Australia

could improve his life dramatically.

Jordan flourishes in the summer,

-when we go on holiday.

-Yeah, if we go on holiday,

Jordan becomes a different boy altogether.

It's the weather affecting 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 the room at winter.

We certainly believe

that he's got more potential than sitting in a room.

But it was Angie's daughter Sophie who was most worried about the move

as she faced the possibility

of living on the other side of the world from her dad.

I don't fancy living in Australia at all.

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

or my dad or my friends and stuff ever again.

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

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

her dad and her sisters and her stepfamily.

But the thing with Sophie

is that I'm trying to better Sophie's 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.

And 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.

So not only am I leaving her

but I'm 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.

And I know that 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 that 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 stayed in the Redcliffe area,

20 miles north of Brisbane.

Their base was a traditional Queensland 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 the dining room.

-Oh, this is Jay's room!

-Let me see!

Cool! And that's Jordy'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 I'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, like, 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 was a bad start to the Buchanans' week

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

Thankfully, a rapid relocation to a modern apartment

free of visitors and right next to the beach

helped 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-bedroomed 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.

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 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?

-It's strange, eh?

-What's this?

Oh...Oh!

There's a big cockroach up there.

Yeech! That wasn't a good start to any house viewing.

-Oh, my God.

-It's horrible.

-Yeah.

Oh, God, there's a cockroach!

-So this is the living area.

-Living area?

It's just strange. I can't 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.

-Aye.

What about little Jay? He seemed pretty relaxed.

Do you like this house?

No.

This house was definitely not the start Jason wanted

and that was before they had even find out its price.

Was there budget of £250,000 enough to cover the property

and renovation costs?

-No way!

-217,000.

-No chance!

-No chance.

It might have been affordable

but this house had 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.

Oh, look at that, Jay! Wow!

-This is more like what we were hoping for.

-I love it.

The pool was a great start

but they were yet to set foot indoors.

-Oh, that's nice.

-This is lovely.

-Oh, wow, look at that.

The layout's spot-on.

-It's lovely.

-It's lovely.

-Absolutely lovely.

I love the ceiling, I love the windows.

Just the whole layout, it's just perfect.

This was music to Jason's ears.

Is this Jordy's room?

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

You'd get everything in here.

You think this would be the perfect size for you?

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

but with a budget of £250,000,

would it be within reach?

So this is the price of this house...

Are you ready?

365.

-I would say that was definitely...

-Worth it.

-..at the very limit on what we could afford.

-Mm.

-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.

-Wow!

-Wow! Love it.

This is nice. This is nice! JAY SQUEALS

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...

-For this house?

-..if this was our house.

Much to Jason's relief,

this house seemed to offer everything the Buchanans wanted.

But was the dream house just that, a fantasy?

Or could it have been a real possibility?

-350,000. It's cheaper.

-Cheaper!

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

It's kind of shocked me.

That was great news for Jason's dream.

But being over budget,

it meant the family's finances could be put under pressure.

The Buchanans had seen three different properties

and after a disappointing start to the day,

what was their verdict now on houses in Australia?

ALL: Australia!

It was a great start for Jason

but getting the dream house would need well-paid jobs.

Angie worked in social care

but wanted to return to nursing if they moved.

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

because I'm a qualified children's nurse.

Angie's qualifications 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 back in 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 in the 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 Fitzhenry,

-the nurse unit manager for Paediatrics.

-I'm Angie.

-How are you doing?

-Nervous! Nervous.

-Oh, you'll be all right.

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

-Thank you.

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?

So I might just introduce you to Callum.

-Hiya. And what did you do?

-I didn't do it.

Someone fell on top of me.

-Can I see your arm?

-Wow.

-Has your friends wrote on it?

-Yeah.

While Angie was back in a familiar routine,

Sophie was thinking about a new life

and what that could mean in Australia.

Since we're here, surprisingly,

I didn't think it'd 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 most 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 there vacancies for part-time staff or...?

-Yeah.

-Most of my stuff are part-time.

-Oh, right.

-It's the minority that are full-time.

-OK.

So, you know, it's a great work-life balance.

Are there vacancies available?

-We don't have any vacancies at the moment.

-Mm-hm.

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

I'll have eight full-time positions.

Thank you. And when it comes to salaries,

what is, like, a full-time employee

-and what's the part-time?

-Yeah,

so dependent on your experience

and where you would sit on the pay scale,

as a registered nurse you could earn

anywhere from 58,000

to 78,000 at the top end of the scale.

Oh, that's great!

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

It was good news on the salary front.

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

if she was prepared to work full-time.

Today has been very, very positive.

I feel a lot calmer,

a wee 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, erm, experience today.

With Angie's vote for work in Australia,

it looked like Jason was definitely winning her over.

But could the family actually afford to make the move?

To help them figure it out,

we'd prepared a breakdown of their everyday living costs.

Oh, look at the size of the mortgage!

Now, 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?

-We're quids in.

We were thinking possibly

when it came to the calculations of everything,

and 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 mind

whether it was the right move for not. But...

-Looking at the...

-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!

Realising they could afford to live in Oz

was another great result for Jason

but the move wasn't yet certain.

Both he and Angie needed to know if Australia would offer Jordan

the independence and outdoor life he thrived in.

I think that the two of us would like Jordan

-to have a wee job and...

-Just 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.

-How are you doing? I'm Jason.

-G'day, Jason.

-I'm Dillon.

-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 you 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 our recording studio,

-where we have Chris and Kieran and Jeremy in today.

-Hi, guys.

So Jordan, I know you're interested in music.

'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 to 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

which are going to take him into adulthood.

So it's about building those skills up

that someone would build up in life

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

-Yeah, definitely.

And do you get involved in employment opportunities for him?

-DILLON:

-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.

Had the Buchanans heard enough?

-I feel a lot better.

-I feel a lot more confident.

Just from one association that we've spoke to,

I think Jordan would excel.

The day seemed to have answered much of Angie's concerns

and Jason's dream for Australia appeared 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.

I'm crying already!

-Hi, guys.

-Hello, guys.

Hope yous are having a great time in Australia.

Angie and Jason are meant for each other.

They totally bounce off each other.

And every weekend, they've always got a plan for the kids.

Every weekend.

No' just the school holidays.

And they're lovely kids.

It's going to just...

break my heart to say goodbye to them.

If yous do decide to move to Australia,

I will miss you, like, loads.

Cos we've been friends for so many years

and, like, 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 all and I'll really miss you too.

If yous do decide to go,

it's going to rip us up a bit

because you're my wee sister,

my nephew, my niece.

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

Well, I think they're doing the right thing.

I know for a fact he loves me to bits.

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 yous could make,

for the family and yous.

Move over.

Are you wanting a cuddle, Jordan?

-SOPHIE:

-It has been made a lot more real

that we might actually go.

Just need to wait and see.

Seeing messages from home was painful for both Sophie and Angie.

So had it put Jason's hopes of convincing them to move in danger?

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 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.

In the last few days, I mean,

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 my 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.

So 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 down under,

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

In 2012, a year after their original trip down under,

we caught up with the Buchanans.

After much soul-searching, Sophie had come to terms with the idea

of leaving her dad, stepmum and sisters in the UK

and the family were pressing ahead with plans to emigrate.

But they'd faced many obstacles since their trial week,

including problems securing a visa because of Jordan's health issues.

When we initially found out about the visa,

and Jordan maybe not being eligible,

-we were obviously a bit shocked.

-Crushed.

-But we immediately...

-We started looking into it.

..looked elsewhere at different websites,

different forums, taking advice and things.

It's still not clear cut, it's 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.

To help secure a family visa, Angie and Jason had to prove

Jordan could be capable of independent living.

Since we came back from Australia,

Jordan's started a college course

and it's to promote his independence.

It's not so much on the academic side,

it's more personal skills.

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

his self-confidence,

and speaking to other people

in addition to the learning independent living skills.

He's doing a project just now and it's...

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 were clear to see.

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 and he loves it.

He absolutely loves it.

As the main visa applicant,

it was Angie's skills as a paediatric nurse

that were going to provide the whole 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 practical on a ward,

a children's ward.

I've also had to keep on my own job

so it's been...it's been pretty tough going.

Jason was getting the house ready to go on the market

and although he wanted to look after the children down under,

he had planned a trip back to Australia to look for a job.

I've spoke 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.

But Jason was also coming to terms with a devastating loss.

My mum was watching the kids, Jordan and Jay, overnight.

And she just suddenly became unwell,

and a day later, died.

And so that was all really sudden that that happened

and it obviously had a horrendous effect on us all.

Jason was heartbroken.

But it's just...

It's just gave us the, kind of, the nod on the head.

It's almost as if Australia's what we're supposed to be doing.

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.

You know, if we were 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.

When we last caught up with them,

despite some tough times at home,

the Buchanans still had their sights firmly set on a move down under.

So one year on,

has their determination finally paid off?

Have they made it to the other side of the world?

It's March 2013 and Angie, Jordan, now 19,

Sophie, now 15, and Jay, now four, are living in...

Scotland.

But not for long!

Angie had been working hard to secure a visa for the whole family,

but in the end, it wasn't needed.

We were just ticking along

and waiting for my paperwork to come through for my visa,

for my nursing, so that I could apply for our sponsorship.

However, Jason applied online one day

and received an offer of a position in Australia

on a temporary four-year visa.

And it was Jason that got the visa, not me.

So all my hard work for nothing!

Incredibly, within days of getting the job offer,

Jason left for Brisbane and he's now been there for three weeks.

It's Angie and the children's last day in Scotland

before setting off to join him.

So basically, it's made the whole move

go faster than what we expected.

And the fact that Jason's been away for three weeks

and we're flying out tomorrow,

so everything's just went full circle.

Jason's hurried move

meant Angie was left to pack up the family's life in UK.

It's been so much stress.

You would not believe the amount of stress!

Selling everything.

We decided we weren't taking any of our own furniture.

It's a new start, it's... Everything, it's a fresh start.

So I've had strangers chapping the door for furniture.

I've had people on the internet for furniture.

So the house is basically empty

and all we're doing is taking our suitcases.

But it has been, oh, it's been hard.

Emotionally tiring,

physically tiring,

but it will be worth it when I see his face

when we come off the plane.

Three weeks of separation has taken its toll on Angie

and she can't wait to be reunited with her husband.

It just feels like I cannae function properly.

It's been so hard

because Jason's having to do other things over in Australia,

I'm having to deal with stuff -

we work together.

So Jason's on the other end of the world trying to function

and I'm trying to function here

and it's been really hard.

Really, really hard.

The children are looking forward to the adventure

and Sophie has slowly come to terms

with the fact that she'll be leaving her dad and half-sisters behind.

This is my sisters.

That's Jessica and Rosie.

This is when we went to Tunisia earlier this year.

She spent the last weekend with them

and she said her goodbyes.

And she's still heartbroken.

She's going to be heartbroken.

But she knows that she needs to go to Australia

and have a better life.

Give it a try anyway, do you know what I mean? So...

Yeah, I think Sophie's really looking forward to it.

My wee gran bought me this wee bracelet,

which is lovely.

My favourite colour.

So...just to say goodbye.

Hiya! How's things?

Since Jason's departure,

the couple have been relying on video chats to keep in touch,

which has given Angie a chance to keep tabs

on his efforts to find them a home.

I've got a few lined up for later on this week

so I'll just leave that to you when you come over.

Like I've not done enough, like?

I don't want that responsibility!

-But...

-Obviously.

-I'll leave it to you,

once you've recovered from jet lag.

Well, this time tomorrow we'll be away!

Yeah, this time tonight you'll be in Australia!

I cannae wait to see him, can't wait to see him.

I've never been this lonely, hurt,

upside down, emotional

without him being here.

Every day is harder and harder

cos we've never been away from each other.

So I cannae wait! Get a big cuddle.

48 hours and over 10,000 miles later

and the family are finally about to be reunited

on the other side of the world.

Hello!

How are yous?

Hiya, darling.

Give me a cuddle!

Give me a kiss.

Hiya. You missed me?

Hi, you.

Are you all right?

I thought yous weren't coming there for a minute.

-JAY:

-I've got a bit of chewing gum in my bag for you.

Oh, cool, mate. Give me a big kiss.

For Angie in particular, it's an emotional return to Australia

and Jason is delighted to have the family back by his side.

It's just... It's an adventure. We've got lots to do.

I'm sure it's not going to be easy in the coming weeks,

maybe even months ahead,

but we just need to all pull together

and get Sophie into school,

get the wife working,

get Jordan into college

and me and Jay'll just spend days on the beach.

But I'm having a break first!

After two years of planning,

the Buchanan family are finally about to begin

their brand-new life together in Australia.

Three weeks after arriving,

the Buchanans have just moved into their first Australian home

in Coomera, just over 30 miles from Brisbane.

It might not be perfect,

but everyone's together again under one roof.

We moved into this property a couple of weeks ago.

It's, if we're being honest,

it's a bit lower than our expectations were.

It's a nice house, it's a new house,

it's got four bedrooms, a small garden.

But it was really important that we just got a base.

I wanted to settle down.

I didn't want to be staying in a hotel apartment.

So we kind of just jumped into this house.

And although it does its purpose,

it's not ideal and we're already looking for a new house. So...!

The biggest hurdle to the Buchanans' future in Australia

was always going to be Jordan's ability to prove

he could live independently.

But before they left the UK, they had some great news.

Well, we were always worried about Jordan obtaining a visa.

However, on the 457 visa that we managed to secure,

the four-year working visa,

it was basic health questions.

and the answers to them allowed Jordan to come here no problem,

-which was...

-Without a medical, without any questions asked

-because he fitted in within the criteria.

-Which was great.

-It was a big worry off our mind, wasn't it?

-Yeah.

And a surprise as well.

So the next stage would be applying for permanent residency.

And from what we've been told,

the 457 visa will just automatically carry over to that.

So again, we don't anticipate any problems with Jordan,

with his health conditions.

The family's future in Australia should be secure.

Jason's been working as an account manager

at an office technology business

for two months, and the job's going well.

It's been excellent so far.

Really good company to work for.

Work hard and play hard, but really relaxed.

And yeah, so far, early days, it's been great.

And the guys have done a lot to make me fit in.

And while Angie concentrates on getting the children settled,

she's also been thinking hard about returning to work.

And she's had a change of heart about the part-time option.

But once they're sorted, obviously I want to go back into my nursing

and that was the whole point of doing my nursing course.

So hopefully go back

and I'll be working full-time.

I think working full-time over here

would still give me family time...

..but obviously boost our wages up at the end of the week.

So...that's what it's about.

Moving to the other side of the world is a massive challenge

but the boys appear to have taken it in their stride.

The kids are settling in great.

Jay absolutely loves it.

He's going to be right little Aussie surfer dude, I would imagine.

And the dream of helping Jordan to flourish down under

seems to have paid off.

Jordan always shines on holiday.

So to see that when you go on holiday

for two weeks a year or whatever back home

and Jordan comes out of his shell,

to have that ongoing, every day...

you cannae explain it.

I just love seeing him developing

into the young man that he should be.

But it was always Sophie who had the most to leave behind.

I miss my dad and my sisters and my stepmum loads.

Like, there's no word to describe it.

But I feel...

Before I moved over, I felt that,

you know, that was kind of going to be it.

We wouldn't talk as much and stuff like that.

But I missed my wee sister's birthday, she's just turned seven,

but we were, like, Skyping and I sent over cards.

And my dad Facetimes me all the time

and I speak to my stepmum just as much as I did in Scotland.

She's struggling just now

so I think Sophie's looking forward to getting into school.

She's already went over her internet access limit twice

with Facetiming and everything else, so...

She's a strong-headed girl.

She's accepted the move to Australia.

She knows that it could be a really good opportunity for her,

as well as the family.

So again, if we can get her interacting as soon as possible

with people her age,

then I honestly believe that Sophie will flourish here.

It took a few weeks to get Sophie enrolled at a local school,

but she's now secured a place and is looking forward to starting soon.

Because I'm not, like, into a routine at, like, school,

I have a lot of time to sit and think

about what I would be doing if I was home and stuff like that.

And that's when I start to get upset again.

But I think, on a whole, I've got my communications with people

and that makes it that wee bit easier.

I think there is going to be a point

where we do have a meltdown.

And that any one of us

will be missing home

or kind of get, like, homesick.

But the now, I just think everybody's just enjoying the experience

and we still have contact with family and friends back home. So...

We've all kind of settled in pretty well.

Inevitably, there are some things the couple miss about home.

The one thing, small thing, would be I miss the football on the TV.

But you can obviously get that here,

although it's, you know, in the early hours of the morning.

But that was something that I watched a lot back home.

So I miss that.

But in terms of anything else,

so far I don't miss anything.

Yeah, I think I've got a couple of close friends

that you miss just popping in and having a coffee with.

But apart from...

apart from them...

-No.

-No, I don't miss anything.

We're not homesick. We just feel like we're settling in

-and we fit in.

-Yeah.

They've only been in the country three weeks

and there have been some teething problems,

but already the family feel their lives have been transformed.

The weather over here, it's been more quality things.

Things we've wanted to do, like take Jay to the park,

take Jay to football,

take Jordan swimming into the sea, stuff like that.

That's what we're actually experiencing.

So I would say it's a better quality family time that we've got

than compared to back home.

Yeah, it's great.

As a dad, being able to do all these things with the kids

and with Angie, it's just...

Yeah, it brings you all closer together.

And if the kids are happy, then that helps us be happy.

It's been an incredibly long journey

for the Buchanans to get to Australia.

But Angie and Jason both feel

they're beginning to reap the benefits.

The way things are going just now,

I don't think that myself and Angie

would ever consider going back to the UK.

Sophie's 15 years old.

She may decide at some point in the future

that she may want to go back.

Erm...

But I truly believe once she's settled in Australian life,

the most she would do would be go back on holiday.

But overall, I can't see us going back.

What I can say is we are living the dream now,

cos it's our dream.

It's not Jason's dream, it's our dream.

If somebody was to say to me today, "You need to go back home,"

I would cry.

I don't want to leave this life.

This is what we want

and it's just the beginning of something new so...

We'll no' return. Sorry, Scotland!

It's taken them two years and lots of hard work

but finally all of the Buchanans

have started their new life on the other side of the world.

We hope Australia gives them

everything they've been searching for.