The Brown family has officially traded the Alaskan bush to instead settle in the wilderness of Washington.
The family at the front of Discovery Channel’s Alaskan Bush People has officially made the move from the dense wilderness of Alaska to the Contiguous United States following matriarch Ami Brown’s successful battle with cancer. According to PEOPLE, Ami, 54, and husband Billy, 65, have moved their pack of six kids — sons Matt, 35, Bam, 33, Bear, 31, Gabe, 28, and daughters Bird, 23, and Rain, 15 — to Washington state, where they are adjusting to their new lives in a different kind of outback.
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“We never thought we’d be able to find a property like this outside of Alaska,” Bear told PEOPLE of the family’s new home. “It’s so great to have some good stuff coming our way. Things are starting to look up finally.”
“It’s just nice to wake up in the morning and feel happy, which for a long time I don’t think any of us did,” Gabe added.
Although the family is still dwelling in their rugged ways, there are several adjustments that they have had to make, including the stifling heat and having to “constantly watch the ground for snakes.” And while the number of bears in their new home is far fewer than their Alaskan counterpart, Billy said that they’ve “got mountain lions here! How cool is that?!”
The family’s thousands-mile move came shortly after they learned that Ami had been given a clean bill of health following her stage 4 lung cancer diagnosis, which she had initially been told had only a three percent survival rate.
Following her diagnosis, Ami had sought treatment in California, where she underwent several rounds of chemotherapy and radiation. In December, Brown was told by doctors that no traces of the cancer, which had spread throughout her chest and back, could be found. It is expected that Ami will continue going to check-ups every three months to ensure that she remains in remission.
Despite not having her full strength back and having moved her life across the Canadian border, Ami is enjoying her new lease on life.
“To be out of the city and in the mountains is a blessing in itself and being given second chance is great,” Ami said, adding that she is feeling “better than I have in a lot of years.”
Alaskan Bush People season 8 premiers Sunday, Aug. 19, at 9 p.m. ET on Discovery.
