Treagust/Woodward Family Wanted Down Under Revisited

Many couples dream of moving down under in search of

a better life but, for some,

the reality of emigrating is a tougher

challenge than they could ever imagine.

In 2013, Andrew Treagust was hoping to convince partner Emma to

follow his dream and agree to move to New Zealand.

Today, two years on, we'll find out how and where they are now.

Back in 2013, Andrew Treagust had high ambitions for a new

-life down under.

-I could so do this for a living.

It could be my office every day!

But Emma wasn't convinced of the merits of a move.

I like the idea of it. I don't know if I like the reality of it.

Two years on, have the family made a new life in New Zealand?

We've made a choice right now that this is what

we're doing as a family.

With its amazing scenery and diverse culture, New Zealand has long

been a place of interest for British citizens looking to emigrate.

But of the estimated 7,000 who make the move every year,

almost one in seven return. Proof indeed achieving a

dream life on the other side of the world isn't as easy as you think.

In 2013, Andrew Treagust and Emma Woodward had one week to discover if

New Zealand could give their family a happier, healthier lifestyle.

At the end of their trip, they faced a heartbreaking decision

whether to stay in the UK or leave family and friends behind

and make a new start on the other side of the world.

Today, we'll discover which side of the world they now call home.

The family's trial week in New Zealand began with a journey

which saw them spend 25 hours in the air.

It feels a really long time when you're on the plane, doesn't it?

Yeah, you wouldn't want to do it all the time, that's for sure.

Despite the long journey, Andrew was raring to go.

Definitely feels real now we're here, and really exciting as well.

-Yeah.

-It's going to be a big adventure.

But Emma was a little more reserved.

-My fears are is that we're really split on our opinions.

-Yeah, true.

-I just hope we either like it or dislike it.

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

-I don't want to come away more confused.

-Exactly.

The couple now had a week to sample life in New Zealand

before making one of the biggest decisions of their lives.

In 2013, Andrew Treagust and Emma Woodward were living with

Albert, then aged two, and baby George just outside Brighton.

Life was good in the UK with a beautiful home,

two lovely children and plenty of friends and family to support them,

but Andrew wanted to give it all up for a new life down under.

We've worked really hard and I think we've probably worked too hard,

especially over the last ten years.

Andrew had recently resigned from a high-powered career in the City -

a job he had loved but which eventually had worn him down.

He needs a complete break

and a complete change from the life that he has here.

We've realised that there's more to life than just working.

He could just go and be relaxed Andrew rather than

driven Andrew, and I think that's what New Zealand represents to him.

Andrew knew exactly what he wanted from New Zealand.

It's got to give us a great house, it's got to give us

a great lifestyle, it's got to give us community,

it's got to give us good schooling and it's got to be

somewhere that we want to live for the rest of our lives.

But Emma was worried about giving up her career as

an educational psychologist in the UK.

I love my job. I'm passionate about what I do.

To give that up and move somewhere else that might not be

as I want it to be is really hard.

And she dreaded the thought of breaking strong family bonds,

especially taking Albert away from her mum - his beloved nanna.

They adore each other. They meet on some kind of level.

They just love each other.

I've seen such an amazing side of my mum since Albert was born

that I don't think she deserves me to take him away from her.

But Emma was prepared to give New Zealand a try.

If there's a possibility that our family life could be more

equally shared out in terms of happiness and potential

and enjoyability and all of those things somewhere else,

then I have a responsibility to go and explore that.

That's about being a family, isn't it? That's about compromise.

That's about sharing.

Andrew was convinced New Zealand's outdoor lifestyle could

offer his family a better future but, unless he could persuade Emma,

his long-held dream would come to nothing.

Emma has to like it or it's not going to work for any of us.

If Emma says no, then no is the way it's going to go.

Andrew, Emma and the boys spent their trial week in Auckland.

Home for their stay was

this two-bedroom cottage on the outskirts of Devonport -

a seaside village just a ten-minute ferry ride from the city centre.

Andrew wasn't overly impressed with the space on offer.

-This would be good for the week.

-Yeah, definitely.

-And I think the boys will really enjoy it.

-Yeah.

But a house that we'd buy would need to be of a different size.

With Albert out for the count, Emma and Andrew's thoughts

turn to the big decision they faced at the end of the week.

It's a really long way, you know, so that's kind of already kind of

making me think it's a big separation from my family

and it is a massive effort to get here.

I'm worried, um, that we're not going to be able to afford

the property that we think we are going to be able to afford.

But their fears hadn't dampened their spirits.

I'm quite excited about it. I'm quite up for it at the moment.

It's really interesting, just to be here

and it be turning to reality now.

Back in the UK, the Treagust-Woodwards were living

in a four-bedroom detached house in Saltdean, just outside Brighton.

They loved their house

and knew what they wanted from a home in New Zealand.

It's got to be a good size - four bedrooms

-and possibly somewhere for guests to stay.

-Mm-hm.

It's got to be fairly open plan, it's got to be self-cleaning!

THEY LAUGH

Just bright and airy and comfortable.

Hopefully, near to the sea so that we can go surfing quite a lot.

I want it to be fantastic.

Andrew and Emma owned a number of properties in the UK and had set

themselves a healthy starting budget of £540,000 for a home down under.

To give them an idea of the Auckland property market, we showed them

three houses based on what they said they wanted and needed.

With Albert and George left with a childminder for the day,

the couple's search began at the newly-built Kensington Park

development on the Hibiscus Coast.

20 minutes north of Auckland,

this modern four-bedroom house was close to the beach,

which should have been perfect for surf-mad Andrew,

but did it have the space they wanted?

-It's big.

-Yeah.

-Oh, it's nice. It's a proper family area, isn't it?

-Mm.

-Feels like it, doesn't it?

-It was looking good.

-Open-plan kitchen.

-Really nice kitchen.

-It is a nice kitchen.

-Yeah.

-I like the work surfaces.

-And you could cook... Look at that view when you're cooking.

-It's really nice.

-You could just cook, looking at your sea view.

-And upstairs, the views just got better and better.

-Look at that!

-Wow! That's got the wow factor, hasn't it? What a view!

Now, if that doesn't entice you to get up

and go surfing in the morning, I don't know what will.

-Wake up to that view every day.

-That's amazing!

-That is gorgeous.

With four bedrooms, this house had the space the couple

wanted for visiting friends and family.

-That would work really well as a guest bed, wouldn't it?

-Yeah.

This house had everything they'd been looking for

but would their impressive £540,000 budget cover it?

-So what do you think it's going to be?

-I'm not sure.

-It's going to be a lot, isn't it?

-Yeah. Shall we find out?

Let's find out.

Wow! £648,500.

It was more than £100,000 over budget but...

-That's good.

-That's a lot of house for your money, isn't it?

-Yeah.

-For that view.

-For that view.

-I'm surprised.

-I thought it was going to be nearer 900,000.

-That is really good.

Let's buy it!

It was over budget but,

thanks to their property portfolio in the UK,

Andrew and Emma could have had the ability to increase their

spending power, so they weren't put off.

Next up was a spacious six-bedroom home in Mairangi Bay,

also on the North Shore.

With fabulous beaches, an excellent kindergarten

and a lively community, this area could have been

perfect for Andrew and Emma's young family, but did they agree?

-I like it.

-It's a nice through-area, isn't it?

-Oh, it's really nice.

-But it's very long and narrow.

-No, it's not. I do...

I think I prefer it to the other house. I feel it could be...

-It's not as good as the other house.

-It feels more homely, I think.

It does feel more homely but it's just that it's not as open and airy.

Maybe cos it feels lived in because this is somebody's house.

Cos it IS lived in.

Emma and Andrew seemed to have different opinions on this one.

See, I like...

It feels open plan but it's got defined areas,

-and I quite like that.

-The rooms feel quite small to me.

Size was an issue for Andrew, and it wasn't the only problem.

There's a reason why that's drawn, isn't it?

Because it's obviously quite overlooked.

And there's a shared access right outside of the house.

-Yeah, there's a lot of stuff that you can't control, living here.

-Exactly.

Now Emma wasn't quite sold

but the downstairs granny flat did put a different spin on things.

This is perfect for when people come and stay.

-My parents would be happy as, wouldn't they?

-Yeah.

It'd be lovely.

That was something they agreed on but

did the garden offer the space the couple wanted for Albert and George?

It's OK. It's not much of a garden, though, is it?

-Do you think I'm being quite fussy?

-What, you, Andrew(?)

-Yeah.

You have to be fussy, I think, but still,

there's not much of a garden space.

So I suppose we'd better go and see how much it's worth, really.

If we can't afford it, there's not much point.

This house really had brought mixed reactions

so was their starting budget of £540,000 enough to cover its cost?

-Wow!

-There you go. 687.

It was almost £150,000 over their budget

but finding extra funds didn't seem to be a problem for Andrew and Emma.

-That's a good price for what you get, isn't it?

-Yeah.

It's interesting, and now confusing.

-It still doesn't make me want to go and buy it right now.

-No.

It was affordable but Andrew's heart wasn't in this house.

With two down, would the last property offer the couple

everything they were looking for?

It was in Torbay, also on the North Shore, and close to the beach.

This four-bedroom house with a separate granny annexe

for visiting parents should have been the ideal house for the family.

-Not too shabby, is it?

-That view is stunning, isn't it?

It was a promising start.

And it's all about being outside and eating, barbecuing.

-Oh, it just feels so nice. It feels quite secluded, doesn't it?

-But...

Can hear the road though.

Can you get to the kitchen?

Yeah.

And the road noise was just the start of the problems.

It's just I want to kind of take everything out and start again.

-It's just not done to my taste at all.

-Yeah.

First the road, then the decor, cracks were beginning to show.

-Quite a small room.

-They're all small bedrooms.

Do you know when you're kind of coming in to the house

-and really looks quite imposing...

-It's imposing, isn't it?

-Definitely not as big inside as you think it's going to be.

-No.

Especially when you consider that there's the granny flat downstairs.

It looked like this wasn't the house for Emma or Andrew.

But did the cost change their minds?

I don't feel confident about making a guess. What do you think?

-About 750?

-I think about seven.

OK.

-My goodness!

-That's great value.

-Really good value.

£521,000.

That was almost £20,000 under budget.

If you spent, what, £50,000 changing it, that's still...

70 grand cheaper than the last cheapest house.

I'm really surprised.

Exploring the local housing market had been a real

eye-opener for Andrew and Emma.

Property one was something of a showstopper

and less expensive than the couple expected.

The second house was £147,000 over their starting budget,

but the price still hadn't put them off.

And although property number three didn't live up to first

impressions, its price tag meant they could afford to turn

it into their dream home.

So did the couple vote for property in the UK or New Zealand?

We've had an interesting day looking at properties

and based on that, we vote for...

-New Zealand.

-New Zealand.

-It was a good day, wasn't it?

-Really good day.

I was really surprised that you got that much property for your money.

-Yeah.

-And amazing views.

In a lovely location. I don't know what else you could ask for really.

It was a great start for Andrew.

Emma's first vote for New Zealand

was a big step in the right direction.

The desire to come to New Zealand was all about the relaxed

outdoors lifestyle the family could enjoy.

So was a day of Kiwi style living enough to keep Andrew's dream alive?

With Andrew and Emma both keen surfers, we took them to Piha Beach,

a popular surfing spot just 14 minutes' drive from the city.

While baby George was looked after by a childminder,

it was a chance for Andrew to show Emma

and Albert the kind of lifestyle he'd been dreaming about.

We'd come down every weekend, wouldn't we?

It's so close to the city and it's such a beautiful place

and just a beautiful beach.

Albert may have been a little young to fully appreciate the surf,

but Andrew could picture it as part of his future.

I'd love to see the boys grow up in

a wet suit and just surfing every weekend.

It's the sort of thing I wish we'd done as kids and it'd be

-really lovely to afford Albert and George that, wouldn't it, really?

-Definitely.

After their morning riding waves,

the couple took the boys to a nearby park for some playtime.

So far, the day had been everything Andrew had hoped

And he was pleased with how it seemed to have affected Emma.

She seems really comfortable here

and when we've been driving about,

she says sometimes that she thinks she could live here,

so I think that's a really good indication of the way things

-might go in the future.

-Watching the kids here has been brilliant.

I don't feel so far away from home. It feels familiar, but different.

It's... It's... It feels relaxed.

But time out had also made Emma realise just how big

a decision the couple were facing.

When I think about being at home... I don't know really.

They're all kind of...

There's no clear tipping point at the moment.

So, based on lifestyle, did the family choose New Zealand or the UK?

We've had a lovely day today and based on that, we vote for...

-New Zealand.

-New Zealand.

-New Zealand!

Yeah!

You're fantastic, aren't you? Sand all over your face.

You said New Zealand!

Emma's vote for New Zealand had been a real confidence booster,

but Andrew knew there was a much bigger battle ahead.

Back in the UK, Emma was an educational psychologist.

I'm really passionate about my job. It's really important to me

and it enables me to empower people to make change in their own lives.

Giving up her job would be a massive wrench.

It's an amazing place to work

and I'm going to have to potentially give all that up if we move.

Andrew was dreaming of a career change if the couple did move.

I'd love to be a snowboard instructor and I can imagine

waking up and being really excited about going to the mountain.

And having the mountain as your office.

You know, it's a fantastic dream to have.

But if Emma didn't find the right post down under,

his dream would come to nothing.

It's a deal breaker for me, I suppose.

It is a deal breaker for me.

You can't change the way that you feel about it.

And if it doesn't feel right, I genuinely don't know

if I'd be able to do it.

The stakes were high.

While the boys were looked after by a childminder,

the couple set off to find out about work opportunities in Auckland.

We arranged for Emma to meet a clinical

psychologist at the Waitemata District Health Board.

-Hi.

-How are you? I'm Tina.

I'm the psychology professional leader here.

-So, this is the sort of place that you would be working.

-Mm-hm.

Across town, Andrew went to check out his dream of becoming

a snowboard instructor at New Zealand's only indoor snow

sports facility and he couldn't wait to hit the slopes.

I could so do this for a living. It could be my office every day.

Back in the real world,

Emma was finding out about her work prospects.

Based on my CV, would I be able to get a job in New Zealand?

-Yes, very definitely. You're on our wanted list.

-Mm.

It's really a matter of what sort of area you'd like to work in.

OK, that's good news.

It was a good start,

but Emma worried working practices might be different in New Zealand.

You're wanting to work more in the child and family area, aren't you?

-That's my qualification.

-Yes.

Usually, the psychologist would work sort of across the whole sector.

But you can specialise in the younger pre-schoolers

-or you can work with the older adolescents.

-OK.

That was one concern put to rest.

Back at the Snowdome, Andrew met with manager Brad Alwin to find

out what opportunities could exist for him as a snowboard instructor.

So, I've been snowboarding about ten years.

I'm just really exploring, from your point of view, whether it's

feasible and whether it's something that I could potentially do.

It's definitely feasible.

Worth, once you arrive, doing a New Zealand based qualification.

Through the course, we can see how well you actually teach,

we can teach anyone to snowboard, we can't teach everyone to teach.

Yeah.

Once qualified though, how much work would there be?

In a full day, an average ski instructor would probably

-work six hours, during peak season.

-Mm-hm.

-Your part-time or casual instructor may only get two hours a week.

-OK.

The window that we have to make money and to ski

and for you to be employed is four months.

-OK.

-If we're lucky.

-Yeah.

Definitely not a full-time option.

Emma's earning power was more crucial than ever.

How much as a psychologist would you get paid to work in New Zealand?

With three to ten years' experience,

-it's nearer 61 to, say, about 97,000.

-OK.

You'd be somewhere in the middle there, I would imagine.

That was around £10,000 less than Emma earned back home.

Would Andrew's potential income fill the shortfall?

As a rookie, as a first year employee, you can

expect to earn minimum wage, or about 14.50 an hour.

That wouldn't make up for the deficit in Emma's salary.

It may have been his ideal job,

but Andrew would be earning the minimum wage.

The day had given the couple food for thought.

Had it put an end to Andrew's dream?

Undecided.

Me too.

-Why undecided?

-Erm...

Because although I felt that some of my fears were allayed,

I still really like my job at home.

It's a great lifestyle opportunity.

I'm just not sure I'm ready to take a lifestyle opportunity right now.

Despite loving the lifestyle, the cold,

hard facts couldn't be ignored.

If Emma and Andrew moved, they'd be earning a lot less money.

It was time to find out if they could actually afford the move.

We prepared a comparison of the cost of living in the UK and New Zealand.

They started with the weekly food shop.

Fruit...

-Fruit's quite a lot more.

-It's quite a lot more expensive.

-Spinach is randomly quite a lot more expensive.

-What's cheaper?

Couscous is cheaper.

OK.

And flour is cheaper.

So you have to do a lot of baking.

-So it's £37.43 more expensive.

-Wow.

It was an increase of more than £150 every month.

Basing their calculations on the final property they'd seen,

the couple moved on to compare the bigger costs of living.

So, our mortgage in the UK is £670.

Our mortgage in New Zealand, for the property that we looked at,

would be £1,583.

So that's an increase in mortgage payments of £913 a month.

So we'll be £1,784 worse off in New Zealand.

And that's huge.

-That's massive.

-And we couldn't effectively do that.

With the figures weighing heavily on their minds, it was time for Emma

and Andrew to choose between finances in the UK or New Zealand.

So, based on what we've just been looking at, we vote for...

-Undecided.

-UK.

I just think that we can't make this model work.

And it's got to be rethought.

But there is wiggle room and that's why I've gone undecided.

OK.

Emma and Andrew's trial week had revealed some harsh home truths

and there was still more to come.

Emma worried about taking the children away from her mum.

So would watching messages from friends

and loved ones from home prove too heartbreaking?

While baby George took a nap,

they settle down to watch the DVD together.

They're lovely. They're really lovely. Very close family.

They like going out and doing things together, like being by the sea.

They're free spirits, they are adventurous.

-They've done a lot of travelling.

-Emma is very zesty.

Pretty proud to have her as a daughter actually

cos she's full of life.

There's my nanny.

Andrew's my younger brother. He's always been a bit of a wanderer.

He's always liked doing a lot of travelling.

But he's a great guy, he really is a great guy.

And he adores his kids.

Andrew and I lost our dad coming up for three years now

and we have become much closer since we lost Dad

and it's really nice having him close.

Having Andrew nearby is a comfort.

It is the little ones that I think...

Just tugs at your heart strings a little bit more, doesn't it?

Yeah, it's... Yeah. Yeah, yeah.

Albert is gorgeous. Obviously, I'm a little bit biased.

He's the best grandson in the world. There's nobody like Albert.

We have a real bond. We do. We really have.

Albert is absolutely gorgeous.

-Just a lovely little boy.

-Yeah, there would be a gap, a huge gap.

Also the opportunity of not getting to know George.

I think that's the big thing.

It would feel quite empty, wouldn't it, really?

Just knowing that they're not here.

Yeah, it would be a bit odd, I think.

We can't pretend we're happy about it.

But we're not unhappy about it.

It's just the fact we're going to miss you, miss the kids.

But I hope it goes well for you and it's what you really, really want.

And if that's the case, then we're all for it.

-My mum looked a bit devastated.

-Mm. Mum will really miss the kids.

I think it's the grandparent connection that's the really,

really hard one.

Even though they've got everything here, nice climate, beaches,

lifestyle, that kind of thing,

that's not really something you can replace so much, is it?

I don't know if I want that responsibility

to make that call really.

You know, I don't know if we're just confusing it. I don't know.

No, I don't know.

To say that growing up in New Zealand is more important,

better for them, than having a relationship

with their grandparents, is not really a decision...

-They're not two options I want to decide between.

-No.

Hearing messages from those they love the most have been a painful

reminder of what Emma and Andrew would lose if they left the UK.

The couple faced a heartbreaking dilemma -

give the children a new life in New Zealand or keep them

close to the grandparents who love them so dearly.

As their trial week drew to a close,

it was time for Emma and Andrew to make their decision.

I hoped New Zealand would be good. It's been amazing.

The country itself, I love to bits.

Really enjoyed kind of getting a sense of what it would be like

to live here, rather than just to be on holiday here.

I think it's been an invaluable experience.

But with so much at stake, had the lifestyle been enough to

convince Emma to move to the other side of the world?

It would be very easy to sit here in this beautiful park, surrounded by

a really family friendly environment

and be seduced by the idea of living in New Zealand.

Until I've got that flag in my hand, I don't know what I'm going to vote.

She has told me she is willing to sacrifice part of her career

aspirations, if you like, for the lifestyle of us and our children.

And I think that's a lovely thing to do.

But I'm not sure how I feel about that.

So, after 15 years of talking about it, just where did Andrew

and Emma see their future?

New Zealand or the UK?

We've had a really interesting week

and based on everything we've seen, we vote...

-New Zealand.

-Undecided.

Undecided, eh?

I think there are two sticking points for me.

There was the finances and friends and family.

If everyone was here and the finances were bad,

then I would have said New Zealand.

And if the finances were better and we got to visit our families

more often, then I would have said New Zealand.

I don't disagree.

There are still some questions that we need to answer.

I still think it's a really serious option.

-I think we could make it work if we wanted to.

-What's your vote?

England!

In the end, it seemed as if the thought of breaking the close

bond between their children

and grandparents was just too much for Emma.

Andrew's dream appeared to be on hold.

So, two years after we last saw them,

is it still Brighton they call home?

It's May 2015 and Andrew, Emma, and the boys, are living in...

Auckland, New Zealand.

Despite being undecided at the end of their trial week, Emma

eventually had a change of heart after spending time back in the UK.

We did a lot of thinking and we sat on it for a bit.

Emma had reservations because we have, or had,

a great life at home in Brighton.

And it's a difficult thing to pull yourself away from that life.

There was a lot on offer in New Zealand.

I just had to think about how to make it work for us as a family.

And you just have to look harder sometimes, don't you?

The turning point for Emma came

when she visited an online forum for jobs in New Zealand.

Somebody posted on there that there was a work seminar day

at New Zealand House for jobs in psychology in New Zealand.

So I went.

Emma discovered there was a vacancy in her field in Auckland.

I applied. Had the interview.

It was, I think, 9:30 at night, UK time.

So I was in my bedroom, in my pyjamas.

Three people had dialled in, so it was a conference call

across the other side of the world, which was a bit odd.

Despite the unusual interview, Emma obviously impressed.

She was offered the job the next day.

It was almost like we couldn't not go, we were on that path and kind of

the destination was set towards New Zealand and it was about working out how to get there.

Things were falling in to place,

but then Andrew began to have second thoughts.

It became more real for me and more scary.

In fact, at that stage it was me that said, "Whoa! Hang on!

"Let's slow this down a bit."

The couple spent months going round in circles,

debating whether to stay put in the UK or make the move down under.

-Until...

-There wasn't a clear winner.

There was differences and so it was just like the only way we'll know is to go, so we'll go.

Before they could change their minds again,

Emma booked their flights to New Zealand.

That was a very scary moment because that was very much like -

we are going to do this now. This is where we're headed.

With tickets in hand, there was no turning back.

It was the shift from it becoming a dream

and something that you talked about to it becoming real.

After 18 months of deliberation,

the couple finally began to pack up their lives in the UK.

I do remember being absolutely surprised how quickly you can

deconstruct your life that you spent years building up.

That was the easy bit though.

Telling family was the worst part.

And they were fairly aware that it was coming, but it was really

difficult to tell grandparents that we were moving away.

I think people who know us knew that we were never not going to go,

to be honest with you.

I think they just hoped that we wouldn't.

They arrived in Auckland in July 2014,

in the middle of the New Zealand winter.

That was quite a tough thing, leaving the UK summer

and then stepping off the plane into the New Zealand winter.

And just everything being turned on its head.

The couple found the transition much harder than they'd expected.

It was a tough month. It was a very tough month.

You're not on automatic pilot for anything cos you don't know

where to buy milk, you don't know the best shop to do this, you don't know anything.

I won't lie that there are days, especially

when we first arrived, where I woke up and just thought, "Oh, my God!

"What have we done?"

Andrew and Emma had initially taken a short-term let

on a rental in New Zealand, but soon decided the best way

to settle was to find somewhere they could really call home.

We always had a vision of where we wanted to go to.

To get there, we kind of stuck true to what we knew

we wanted to do, which was to live out in Piha really.

It was the vision of New Zealand that we had from the UK.

It was living by the beach, it was living in a community.

It is being part of something, whereas in the UK,

we felt more like we were a number.

And we wanted to move away from that. Piha has given us all of that.

Having set their hearts on living in Piha,

the couple had to go to unusual lengths to secure a home there.

We had some flyers printed and we put them

in the letterboxes for all the roads we wanted to live in, in Piha.

It was a photo of us as a family and just said,

awesome family home wanted for a lovely family...

An awesome family!

And just outlined what it is that we wanted,

and had our telephone numbers on the bottom.

Their unique ploy paid off.

We just put the word out really, and just trusted that something

would turn up and it did, because things do in New Zealand.

That's generally our experience.

It couldn't have been better really, could it?

Andrew and Emma are delighted with their new home.

It's unique in so many ways,

and it fits in almost perfectly with the experience that we wanted.

The position of the house is awesome

because we are literally the last house, and so we are kind of nestled

in the bush and yet we get this awesome view

right down Piha beach and I don't think you can beat that location.

In the summer, it is lovely because you have got a hammock

and you've got a chair and you can just chill on the deck.

In the winter we have got the wood burner.

And we can just spend time being cosy inside the house, so even

for New Zealand it's pretty cool, but for us, it's really amazing.

-You do feel like you are in a very special spot, don't you?

-Yeah, yeah.

So this is the main playroom.

We set this up for the boys so they had a space of their own

for all of their toys.

You get to play with the boys and you get to look out on the beach,

and the sea and remember where you actually do live.

-The playroom is the best view in the world.

-It certainly is.

The higher you go, the better it gets.

This is the most amazing bedroom I think we've ever had,

purely because of the view. It's absolutely awesome.

Going to sleep every night with the sound of the waves lulling

you to sleep every night is amazing, isn't it?

And in the morning it is like the beach is right there

in your face when you open your eyes, so...

-It is a lovely way to start your day.

-A lovely way to start your day.

The house's setting has made Andrew the go-to man

within the surfer community.

I don't need to check the surf report

because I can see straight down the beach.

People phone me and text me to find out what the surf's doing.

For a pair of picky property punters,

Andrew and Emma can hardly believe they've found their dream home.

We often say to each other that living in a house

like this on a beach like this is the vision,

and it's the vision that we had,

it's the vision that we talked about and that vision came to be true.

While the house may be everything they want,

things haven't been quite so positive on the work front.

Leaving behind a job she was passionate about in the UK

was a real struggle for Emma.

Handing in my notice was really tough

and I still feel sad about it now.

I do still very strongly feel connected to my old job.

I don't think I ever won't.

Adapting to her new role working for the Ministry of Education

in New Zealand has been a challenge.

It is very different.

It is very case-by-case centred, whereas the work

I did in the UK was more about the organisation and the system.

I know psychology, and I know how to be a psychologist,

but learning how to be a psychologist in the New Zealand

context is something that I'm taking my time to learn.

Having worked part-time in the UK,

Emma is finding it hard to adjust to a full-time role.

I never really wanted my hours to increase, but the potential

for working part time wasn't an option in New Zealand.

I used to enjoy having four days a week

where I wasn't in work or I didn't have to think about work.

I'm seeing it as a means to an end,

It's not something I want to do permanently.

Emma has already put plans in place to become her own boss.

I'm in the process of setting up my own business, my own consultancy.

I've been doing some seminars around New Zealand which is something

I really am interested in doing and I'm really happy to do.

The point to move here was to explore something different,

and in doing that, I need to be working for myself

and that's where we're headed.

For the moment, the family are living on Emma's wage alone.

One income is difficult.

Emma doesn't earn quite as much as she did back home, and I'm

not earning at all, so we've lost 1.5 wages, which is quite tough.

Andrew's ambitions to become a snowboard instructor down under

are still on ice.

They offered me a job and I was very excited about that,

but unfortunately, it's just not really possible financially.

I just can't really afford to do the job.

It doesn't pay quite as much as I might like.

He's turned his thoughts to more mundane methods for making money.

I've taken steps to start my own property management business.

I've got to start generating some money so that Emma can

perhaps step back a little bit from her role,

and we can even out so we can both maybe work part-time

and both spend time with the children.

That's our vision, that's our ideal.

For the meantime though, Andrew's a busy stay-at-home dad.

My average day is almost completely different to how it was in the UK.

I get up and I get the kids up, I give them breakfast.

They go to pre-school a couple of days a week now and that frees me up

to do the kind of looking after the house stuff

and looking after the family stuff, doing the food shopping.

Er, and maybe squeeze in a bit of surfing, Andrew?

I've surfed more this summer than I've ever surfed before in my life.

I'm definitely a lot better than I was and that has been wonderful.

More than anything, I'm really enjoying getting in the water.

Dad's not the only one having a swell time.

Both Albert and George are thriving in their new environment.

It fires their imagination.

They're both little boys, they're both really into dinosaurs

but why wouldn't you be into dinosaurs

if you live in something that looks like Jurassic Park?

I'm a palaeontologist!

Albert has got no doubts about the move.

I like it here better cos I live by the beach.

For them it's just a wonderful, amazing childhood experience.

Part of the reason for us coming here is

they would have more of a laid-back, kind of organic flowing lifestyle.

And they do have that.

But is the childhood being missed by those back home?

Something Emma is only too aware of.

Leaving my mum has been a massive thing, and not just for me,

for the kids as well. And I haven't reconciled that.

And I find it difficult.

I know she's not going to get that time with the kids back again.

I know Emma misses her mum and the kids miss their Nana Rabbit as well.

The family keep in touch with loved ones back home regularly,

but video messaging is a far cry from being together.

You can send a voice message with a bedtime story, but it's not sitting

in bed with them all cuddled up having a bedtime story.

I wish I had a friend...

It's different. It is different.

The hardest part of the move was leaving people behind.

I'll wake up in the middle of the night and think, what have we done?

We've made a choice right now that this is what we are doing

as a family, and the cost of that, one of the costs

of that is that they don't get to spend as much physical time

with their other family members, so, yeah, there is a trade-off there.

What you gain, you also sacrifice a lot for.

While being so far from loved ones at home is hard, Andrew and Emma

have already built a strong social network in Piha.

The community is very close-knit, very supportive.

Everybody is very friendly.

There is really no other way to live in a place like Piha,

than to be a part of the community.

I think we've embraced that but they've embraced us as well.

The move down under is all about a healthier, happier lifestyle,

so do the couple think it has been worth it?

It has been an amazing experience.

I've never regretted coming here and having this experience, for sure.

I think the things we wanted to aspire to in a lot of ways, we've achieved.

It was something we had to do and something we are enjoying doing.

I feel like the really hard thing is out of the way. The creeping doubts.

They go away over a little bit of time. You start to just enjoy life.

-It's the fun bit.

-It is the fun bit, yeah.

They may only be ten months into their New Zealand adventure, but

the Treagust-Woodwards seem to have found what they were looking for.

We've definitely made the right decision.

We couldn't have not come, and I'm really pleased that we have.

It's exactly what we wanted and I can't ask for more than that.

We are living the dream.

Within a space of two years, it looks like Andrew and Emma really

have achieved the life they have been dreaming of in New Zealand.

The family's future looks bright and we wish them all the best.