The film "La La Land" plays out the classic meme of the young flocking to locations such as Hollywood to live out their dream.
The new wrinkle on that is this: The over-50 are also flocking to locations ranging from New York to Arizona. It's to find work, of just about any kind.
As employment lawyer Richard Cohen hammers in an article in Abovethelaw.com, the over-50 are struggling to overcome age bias and continue to earn a living. Right now, about 1.5 million of them are unable to find work.
Unlike the success experienced by the actress and musician in "La La Land," the results of the over-50 who relocate are mixed.
One midwest former middle manager invested $7100 to train for long haul truck driving. He accepted a good job whose home base would be in the south. That's a homerun. Truck driving is a seller's market. After a year's experience he will have lots more options on location and compensation package.
A lawyer who didn't make partner wasn't as fortunate. The relocation he made from the midwest to Pennsylvania blew up in his face. The small law firm collapsed. Feeling desperate, he high-tailed it to New York for per diem assignments. Since the competition was so stiff there his plan only stranded him in a high cost of living location.
After it was obvious age knocked me out of the box for communications consulting assignments in the New York Metro area, I researched lower cost locations in which I could rebuild my business.
That took about a year. I ruled out Florida, North Carolina and even Ecuador. Arizona won. It would be an adventure to try out that exotic tropical part of the U.S. That was 2014.
Tucson, AZ panned out in that I rebranded as primarily a remote vendor. It was a lemon in that I was "taken for Jewish" and closed out of lots of social and professional networks. My next La La Land has been eastern Ohio. That's been the Promised Land.
Since I have been already through two La La Land shifts, over-50 colleagues and friends run their own dreams by me. They include former directors of corporate internal communications, former trial lawyers, former teachers and those who need to exit retirement to bring in income.
What I tell them is this: Relocation is much harder than we assume. The ability to adjust is individualistic. Joe's experience can't predict what your own will be.
Instead of opting for a new geographical playing field, it might be less of an ordeal to simply embark on a small career shift. If we are imaginative in thinking about our skills, we might be able to apply them in a professional or blue-collar niche which is a seller's market. A former real estate lawyer became a property manager, without leaving Connecticut.
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