Ashley was born and raised in Vancouver, Canada. She had lived there her whole life there until she decided to move halfway around the world to Edinburgh, Scotland back in September 2015. On what she likes she says “I enjoy traveling with my husband, Arek, and I document our journeys with photographs. On a daily basis, I spend time meditating first thing in the morning and always try my best to be grateful for the little things in order to try and live a balanced life.” I talk to Ashley about her experiences in Europe.

Ashley, welcome aboard. What is one journey away about? How did it start? What is the main purpose of it?

One Journey Away is our platform to showcase our photography and videography, provide people with our travel tips & tricks, and let people in on our life in Scotland. It actually initially started just under my name as I wanted to start blogging and have a place (other than Instagram) to display my best photos, but Arek soon got into making videos, so we rebranded into One Journey Away. We mainly just want to share with others the places we’ve been, including our own backyard.

You moved from Vancouver to Scotland. What motivated you to make the move and why Scotland?

I wanted to explore more of Europe, and with Vancouver being the westernmost city in Canada and the few holiday days I got over there (especially when compared to the UK), it made it difficult. I knew there was a 2-year “working holiday” visa that the Canadian and UK governments had put together for 18-30-year old’s, so I decided to take advantage of that. I knew that I didn’t want to move to London, and Scotland just seemed like the quainter, quieter northerly neighbor – like Canada! It also helped that I had a good friend living in Scotland at the time (also on the same visa) who raved about Edinburgh, so that reassured me that I was making the right decision.

Help me understand what you have learned from traveling? Has it changed you and in what ways?

Traveling has definitely opened my eyes to new cultures and different ways of life. It has taught me to be more open and receptive to others, whether that be in regards to others’ choices, lifestyles, or even their opinions. I wouldn’t say that traveling has drastically changed me, but it’s allowed me to learn a lot more about the world.

What has been the response to your blog? Is blogging all glamorous as it is made out to be or is it hard work?

The blog is barely 6 months old, so it’s still relatively new! At the moment, it’s mostly family and friends who are enjoying the content, and they’ve indicated that they thoroughly enjoy it. It’s definitely hard work to keep a blog afloat, especially if you work full-time as well! My commitment to the blog from the start was to be consistent, and for me, that means publishing new content once a week as that’s what’s manageable for me. It also means thinking ahead and ensuring I have a lineup of topics ready to go. While it is hard work, it’s also very enjoyable for me, and I hope that that will be what keeps the blog going in the long term!

What advice would you give someone who wants to move from one country to another?

Go for it! Honestly. Travelling is amazing and it’s a privilege to be able to travel, but moving to another country and truly experiencing life in another country is something you can’t get from traveling alone. Travelling is like the tip of the iceberg and moving somewhere is the rest of the berg. A lot of people may have fears of not being able to find a place to live or secure a job, but I’ve always believed that everything will work out exactly the way it’s supposed to and when it’s supposed to. And this has always been true for me. The universe will reward you for leaping out of your comfort zone and everything will be okay.

Name me some interesting places you have visited and what is so special about them?

Right up there at the top of the list is definitely Meteora in Greece. It’s a rock formation and has monasteries sitting atop these pillars of rocks. I don’t remember how I stumbled across it online, but when I saw it, I knew I had to go there. And when we planned our holiday to Greece a number of years ago, we made sure to make time to visit Meteora. We sat atop one of the pillars to watch the sunset and it was just stunning.

The glaciers in Iceland were also amazing to see. We did a bit of a road trip around the south of Iceland at the beginning of 2018 and to see glaciers up close and personal is astounding. It seems a lot of people who venture to Iceland keep to the Golden Circle, but if you venture out just a little bit further east, you get to witness some glaciers. It’s just so cool to see something that is so, so many years in the making, and the size of them makes you realize just how small we are!

What does women’s empowerment mean to you?

For me, women’s empowerment means that women have the right and power to make their own decisions and to be able to speak up and have their voices heard without being drowned out. In the West (perhaps with a few exceptions), we seem to be shifting towards an age where women can and do feel empowered to be equal to men and to break stereotypical gender roles.

Tell me something special about the city you live in? Why should we visit it and some good restaurants?

Edinburgh is by far the most beautiful European city I’ve ever seen. There is a charm to it that just can’t be explained. I don’t think you’ll find anybody who’s been to Edinburgh and didn’t like it. Few cities in the world – if any! – can say they have a castle on top of an extinct volcano on one end and another extinct volcano you can climb up on the other! There is so much history to Edinburgh, much of it captured in its stunning architecture, and having plenty of green spaces in the city center doesn’t hurt either!

I typically recommend the Royal Mile Tavern on the Royal Mile as a nice, casual pub to get in a traditional Scottish meal of haggis, neeps, and tatties, with a deep-fried Mars bar for dessert! It’s nothing fancy but has a great atmosphere in there. For vegetarians or vegans, Henderson’s on Thistle Street is a great place to visit. And if you’re looking for something incredibly high-end, Martin Wishart on the Shore in the neighborhood of Leith is a Michelin-starred restaurant that lives up to its name.

How do you balance food, faith, finance, and family?

Family comes first, and in order to ensure we can visit Canada at least once a year, our finances have to be in order! I like to think we’re on top of our finances, wherein aside from the usual monthly bills, we typically only spend money on food. It’s important that we nourish ourselves well with nutritious, home-cooked meals. In terms of faith, I lean towards the spiritual side of the spectrum, where I believe that there is a higher power out there that will ensure my family is safe and all aspects of our life will work out exactly as it’s meant to.

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