How travel changed my life and my career? Meredith Ashton

Traveling and being solely reliant on yourself is a great way for young people to learn about money! Meet my friend Meredith. She grew up in beautiful Hobart, Tasmania and wanted to travel as soon as she could.

Instead, she took some nice advice from her mum, which later enabled her to travel the world with her career! She hasn’t looked back since…Meredith in Mostar, Bosnia with a school friend, taken during a two week trip around Eastern Europe.

Q1: What are your passions and interests?

For as long as I can remember, I have always had an interest in fashion. Hobart  is a pretty small place, and while growing up there, I couldn’t always find the clothes I wanted ,- so I would just make them myself. I would also make clothes for friends as presents.

I think anyone can go to a high street store and buy a complete outfit and look fabulous, but I love putting outfits together from bits and pieces that I’ve found or made.  Looking back over my childhood photos, some choices were questionable, but I remember loving each and every individual piece.  I remember going to a party in grade 6 and wearing my Dad’s tuxedo jacket (from my parents wedding!) with jeans…  Meredith in Jordan enjoying the stunning sunset.

Q2: Can you tell us about  your study, your career in law, and moving away from home? 

When I finished grade 12, I really wasn’t sure about what I wanted to do career-wise.  I knew I really wanted to go travelling so I started planning a gap year overseas.  My mother gave me some advice that if I went travelling straight after school, I would have to come back to Uni after a year and would then be a year behind all of my friends in classes. The other option was to get my degree out of the way and just travel indefinitely.

So I took her advice and started a general Arts Degree at the University of Tasmania. This then led to applying to the University of Tasmania Law School at the end of my first year which culminated in a Bachelor of Arts/Bachelor of Laws degree. I also studied fashion design, pattern-making and sewing at TAFE Tasmania during my degree.   It was hard at the time, fitting everything in but the TAFE courses were my creative outlet and I absolutely loved them.

During my graduation in 2002, the Chancellor of the university asked me what I would like to do with my law degree and I answered saying I would love to be able to use my law degree and do something in fashion.   A few months later, I moved to Melbourne and my first job was as an in-house lawyer for one of Australia’s biggest fashion companies, the Sussan Group. Meredith’s view at London Fashion Week. (OMG lucky girl)

Q3:What was you next move?

In 2005, I decided it was finally time to finally start fulfilling that dream of travelling and so I left Australia with my best friend to move to London.  After a few months of backpacking around Europe together, we settled into London life in May 2005.  In London, I worked with Westfield Shoppingtowns which was a fantastic company to work for at that time.

Westfield was relatively new in the UK market and were working towards building their first UK shopping centre. We worked some long hours but also had a great social life through work.  Westfield became one of the sponsors of London Fashion Week so I was lucky to attend lots of shows and parties through them which helped continue my interest in fashion.Skiing in Lebanon

Q4: So how did you end up living in Dubai?

In 2008, I thought it was time for a change.  I knew someone in Dubai and he suggested I look into moving there. As simple as it sounds, I typed my job description into Google and one job came up.  I contacted them and sent my resume.

The next month, they flew me out for an interview and then offered me the job.  Within 3 months, I had moved to Dubai where I knew 3 people!  Dubai holds some pretty special memories, I met my now-husband there and also met an amazing group of friends.Enjoying some R&R in Dubai.

Q5: And now you’re working  in Perth, newly married to your husband?

Yes, that’s right! After 5 years living in Dubai, my husband  got a great offer here in Perth. Perth was going to be a difficult market for me if I wanted to further my legal career in my field so I looked into having a career change.  Luckily I have a very supportive husband and have now started an e-commerce  role with a locally-owned fashion company.

The way that consumers shop is changing and e-commerce is a rapidly growing industry, so I am excited about this change in my career and seeing where it could lead.   I love the creative environment of this role and feel inspired working with other creative people.

As I mature, I find my passion for fashion is now being shared with interiors and I feel very inspired being back in Australia for both.  There are some great designers here, both in fashion and interiors.  I have just started a blog called findlovekeep.blogspot.com which is my personal creative outlet for me.Westfield gave Meredith and her colleagues tickets to attend the 2006 World Cup in Germany. 

Q6: Upon reflection, how has your career helped you travel the world safely?

I think my career gave me the confidence and motivation to travel and move to other countries.  Knowing that I could secure work in different markets that helped further my career was really enticing.  I suppose it comes back to my Mum’s advice.

If I had gone travelling straight after school, I would probably have spent my time working in unqualified roles that may not have lead to anything.  Instead , I now have a resume listing some great roles in some great companies across the world.Meredith in Petra, Jordan.

Meredith in Iran

Q7: How has the experience of travel changed you?

I had never been overseas until I moved to London at 25.  I remember people being judgmental of this at the time but for me, it just hadn’t been a priority up until then.  Now I couldn’t imagine not travelling.  I have learnt so much about myself and others through the travel experience.

I have grown in self-confidence and would like to think I am a more well-rounded person because of it.  I know I can handle difficult situations on my own and I know that if something does happen, I can pick myself up and get going again.Meredith enjoying a weekend with friends in Ras al-Khaimah, UAE.

Q8: When you were traveling were you always surprised at the types of  friends you made?

I think it is a certain personality type who moves away and is drawn to the expat life. I don’t think I was surprised but I do feel very lucky to have met the amazing friends that I have across my travels.

I think it can be easy sometimes to meet people in a new place but it often takes a while for you to work out who ‘your people’ are… those friends who will be lifelong friends rather than those situational friends.  Meredith celebrating her 30th birthday with friends in Dubai.

Q9: Were there times when you were homesick? 

Yes! Initially there were times of being homesick but I think what helped was that I was really happy with my decisions of where I was.  When I first moved to London, I was just so excited and happy to be there and the same for when I got to Dubai.

The adventures I was having helped me cope with any homesickness.   I also went back to Australia a lot during my 8 years abroad!  Quite a lot of my best friends got married during this time so I went back to as many weddings as I could.Meredith and her husband on their wedding day.

The bridal partyHer best friends

Q 10: Would you recommend that other parents advise their kids to travel before or after their study?

Can I say both?  Take advantage of those long summer holidays and do some traveling to see the world and experience life.  However I would definitely recommend waiting to move to another country until after study.

If you know what you want to do, start university with your friends and enjoy that great university life and then go and grow your career in different markets across the world.Q11: How did travel teach you about money?

Traveling really taught me to budget.   In my backpacking days, money was tight so we stuck to a strict budget- if we overspent, then we had to go without another day.  Further down the track when I was earning more,  my travel fund had just as important place in my budget along with my savings.

It was important to me to make the most of where I was living and see the world while I was so close.  Now I am back in Australia with savings which have enabled us to buy our first home, and also with some amazing memories from the 40 plus countries I was able to visit.

I think you’ll all agree that Meredith is a beautiful person and it just shines through in this interview. Like attracts like! For those of you who want to travel and see the world, perhaps some of Meredith’s wisdom here is a good start!

I hope you enjoyed today’s post!

Janelle xoxo