So much so, they have made it official and became Australian citizens at a ceremony on Wednesday.

Dan said the idea to go Down Under had come from a quick text exchange between himself and his wife Emma.

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"We had young kids at the time and we just weren't enjoying life in England," he said.

"And one day Emma messaged me while I was at work and asked what I thought about moving to Australia.

"I said 'OK' and then we started planning."

After doing a quick search online for positions for a young colorectal surgeon, the family was originally keen on a move to Queensland.

"There was a job advertised for Rockhampton and the power of the internet was such that it looked so lovely on screen," Dan said.

"We'd never been to Australia so didn't know anything about it, but they used a photo of Whitehaven Beach in the Whitsundays to advertise the job and we thought it looked amazing.

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"We applied for the job in Rockhampton, but they had to take Australian-qualified graduates over the overseas applicants so I was unsuccessful."

But Dan said there were no ill feelings as the place they were meant to be was just around the corner.

"We were quite disappointed about it initially, but then we realised Rockhampton isn't actually on the Whitsundays and there were a few issues there," he said.

"So the recruitment agency came back to us and said there was a very nice place in central Victoria called Bendigo, where they had previously placed some doctors.

"They said there were plans to build a new state-of-the-art hospital there in the next few years and asked if we would be interested in having a chat to them."

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After a few meetings with Bendigo Health, Dan and Emma decided to come to Australia to take a look at what would eventually be the family's new home.

"The initial meeting was quite informal and I believe I asked how far away the beach was," he said.

"That was something the kids were set on and I was told to go away and have a think before we met...

"Once we were told Bendigo wasn't quite near the water, the kids agreed that as long as there was a pool close-by, they would make the change."

With help from a number of locals, the Fletchers were able to travel to Bendigo around Easter of 2011 before making the decision to make the move permanently.

"We were so thankful for all the support from Peter Hyett and a lot of other Bendigo locals," Dan said.

"Peter and his group bent over backwards to make us welcome and helped us out.

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"Particularly those first few days, when you arrive in Bendigo with a young family and 10 suitcases and didn't know anyone, Peter and his group organised accommodation for us and a rental car until we were able to get on our feet."

And it was people like Mr Hyett and other that have made the Fletchers fall in love with Bendigo - and Australia itself.

"Right from the very beginning, the Australians and Bendigonians in particular were amazingly welcoming," he said.

"Nobody had a bad word to say about us and when everyone found out I was coming over to work as a surgeon in the hospital, there was no animosity at all.

"Once the children started school, the parents and other children themselves were very lovely and welcoming to us as a whole family."

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And while the family has already started cementing their place in central Victoria, Dan, Emma and their daughter Ella will join their other children Jake and Millie in becoming Australian citizens on January 26.

"We had no plans of going back to the UK because we do love it here and it would be very difficult to do so now," Dan said.

"Jake and Millie have already gone through the process as they had to for school and various other things, but the last three of us are now ready to do the same.

"It's a lot of paperwork and everything so it's taken us a little while to get that sorted.

"And although there are no worries about it, we would like to secure our place here and know we are legally able to stay in a place we've fallen in love with."

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