Welcome! I am Brooke Ashley AKA Little Compass. 

I am a passionate traveler and writer, cultural enthusiast, foodie, artist, collector of extraordinary experiences, and most of all, I love connecting with people around the world. I’ve lived in 51 places, have traveled to 42 countries, and still feel like I have a kid-like sense of wonder! This world amazes me. 

I am here to help empower and inspire you to get out there, dust off that passport and find your sense of wonder! Go after those adventures that you’ve kept as dreams for so many years. It’s time. You can do it, I believe in you. Follow your inner compass, and the world is your oyster. And if you are just looking for inspiring stories, international recipes, and travel poetry, I’ve got you. 

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My love for travel really kicked off in 2006. When I was 19, I was invited to a friend’s Charlie Brown Christmas bonfire on a Southern California beach and made a new friend who told me about a study abroad program called Semester At Sea. She said “next week I set sail to travel around the world on a ship that will visit 12 countries.” I was floored. “When is the next voyage!?” Something called deep within my soul, and I knew I was destined to follow this calling. I ‘knew’… there was no questioning if I was going, it was ‘how’ I was going to make it happen. I didn’t have the funds for anything like this, I did not come from a wealthy family, but I knew all the pieces would align for me to go. I worked 2 jobs, I was the neighbors go-to babysitter, I resourced student loans and grants, and got creative with work aboard opportunities. 

Fast forward 9 months, I found a way to be a work study student on the fall voyage. I had not heard of nearly half of the destinations listed on the itinerary, and that was the thrill of it! I had no idea what I had signed myself up for, but I knew it would be life changing. That Fall I traveled to: 

  • San Diego, California
  • Ensenada, Mexico
  • Honolulu, Hawaii
  • Kobe, Japan
  • Hong Kong, China
  • Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
  • Yangon, Myanmar
  • Chennai, India
  • Port Suez, Egypt
  • Istanbul, Turkey
  • Dubrovnik, Croatia
  • Cadiz, Spain
  • Fort Lauderdale, Florida

The 100 day voyage around the world was life altering. It was a major PIVOT moment in my life where I knew I’d never be the same, and everything I’ve seen, everyone I’d met had rocked me to my core. To this day, I am so thankful to my younger self to be brave enough to go fourth, leave my home country behind and see the world, step into the unknown! 

So here’s my holy grail of travel! From 1987 to present, I’ve either lived in or traveled to these places. Within these places, you can find ‘easter eggs’ of travel stories from over the years. 

Places in the USA: 

  • New Fairfield, CT
  • Stowe, VT
  • Essex Junction, VT 
  • Newport Beach, CA 
  • Mammoth Lakes, CA
  • San Francisco, CA 
  • Joshua Tree, CA 
  • Crested Butte, CO
  • Denver, CO 
  • Blackhawk, CO
  • Loveland, CO
  • Grand Canyon, AZ
  • Chicago, IL 
  • NYC, NY 
  • Los Angeles, CA 
  • Park City and SLC, UT
  • Nevada City, CA 
  • Santa Barbara, CA 
  • Missoula, MT
  • Las Vegas, NV

Places Abroad: 

  • Auckland, New Zealand ( Lived there 6 months ) 
  • Bali, Indonesia ( Lived there 8 months ) 
  • Leeds, England ( Lived there 3 months ) 
  • Thailand ( Traveled there 1 month ) 
  • Columbia ( Traveled all over 1 month ) 
  • London, England
  • Paris, France 
  • Lisbon, Portugal 
  • Al Garves, Portugal
  • Marrakesh, Morocco
  • Milan, Italy
  • Florence, Italy
  • Bologna, Italy
  • Verona, Italy
  • Zermatt, Switzerland 
  • Romania
  • Belize, Mexico
  • Prague, Czech Republic
  • Berlin, Germany
  • Amsterdam, Netherlands
  • Copenhagen, Denmark
  • Stockholm, Sweden
  • Rikivic, Iceland
  • Whistler, Canada

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WHY I  WRITE

  • To keep the travel writing spirit alive and well! Like Hemingway, I draw upon my experiences to bring about reflective travel writings from far off lands to share with you my reader, so that I can inspire passion and aliveness within. 
  • To share places and things I feel are worth experiencing. I want to inspire you to explore the world, even if it’s on a budget. I like to share ways in which I find resources to make experiences possible.
  • To share how it’s possible to cultivate community and a sense of home anywhere you go. From cooking to walks in nature, it’s best shared with friends and family, and even new friends! How to take what we’ve learned from foreign lands and weave them into the fabrics of our everyday lives. 

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AM I ON SOCIALS? 

Not yet! I’ve made social media a professional part of my prior marketing career that I’m really wanting to stay focused on writing here, and then expanding from there. If you feel you’d like me to have Instagram, a YouTube channel, let me know! I’m open to ideas. 

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WHERE HAVE I BEEN FEATURED? 

Nowhere yet. If you’d like to collaborate, have me as a guest writer, let me know!

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REMOTE INCOME

I’ve worked remotely for 12 years! That’s right, I am a digital nomad dinosaur. I decided after my film career  in 2012, that whatever I did from there on out, I’d find a way to work remotely doing it. So I’ve done everything from running my own freelance business for social media marketing, video editing, YouTube expertise, web design, holistic marketing, to being a marketing manager at a few bigger corporate companies, and for the last 2 years as an Inside sales Campaign Supervisor for a financial firm. Wild right!? As of very recent, I stepped off the corporate hamster wheel, and have decided to follow my true calling and pursue my travel and writing passions, which brings us here… to this very website page. 

BUT HOW DO YOU MAKE A LIVING AS A TRAVEL WRITER? 

I don’t yet, but soon, I can feel it! I claim the title of ‘travel writer’ and see what it has in store for me. I have savings, enough to keep the lights on for a few more months. If you’d like to donate, let me know! I’d love all the support. { Insert Patreon account } 

This site will have affiliate partners so that I can start monetizing this little travel site, while making sure this writing stays engaging and valuable. My hope is that this writing is enjoyed by others and it has wings. I’d like to publish several books. The dream is there! 

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TRAVEL RESOURCES 

These are my top ‘hand picked’ resources for what I love the most from all my travel and experiences. From health supplements, travel gear to how to score the best travel deals so you can travel more than you ever thought imaginable, I’ve got a great list for ya here!