My husband and I are mid 50’s and thinking about FI & possibly living outside the country. I should say, I’m thinking about it. He still thinks only in terms of retirement and feels it’s still far in the future. I’m working on him! Info on how others have successfully done this would be great! My husband is a real estate investor and I have my own business. I’m looking to make a career shift. Is that possible for someone in their mid-50’s?! – Jill
Career change later in life is not only doable but has its advantages
It’s a myth that there is an age cutoff for changing careers (read four more career change myths here). Dr. Regina Lark went from laid off at 50 to 7-figure entrepreneur and is just one example of late-career change. Other mid/late career changes include pharma to donuts, luxury goods to real estate and accountant to Tony award-winning Broadway producer.
These success stories show that having years, even decades, of work experience under your belt conveys multiple advantages:
- Fatter dream fund from years of saving to invest in a donut franchise, training in a new field or other requirements for your next act;
- A bigger, broader and deeper network of connections to tap for information, leads and opportunities;
- More certainty about what you do and don’t want.
Relocation along with career change adds to the disruption
Changing careers to a new industry, role or both is already disruptive. If you’re also planning a move abroad, that’s an additional, separate change on top of a new career. That doesn’t make it impossible, but it’s extra work. I once coached a journalist in Atlanta who wanted to leave the media industry and move to Los Angeles. She did make that switch, but it meant changing geographies, industries and roles all at the same time.
In her case, she mitigated some of the disruption by picking LA, which she knew from numerous trips there and landing a communications job that used a lot of her journalism training. Still, she was selling her home, packing a lifetime of things, finding a new place, reestablishing her professional credibility and building a whole new network all at the same time.
Making an international move adds a cross-cultural layer and different time zones to your communications. You also need to factor in different regulations and requirements around working or doing business in a foreign country. Finally, people hire people – networking is key to landing a job or selling new business. Typically, our strongest network is where we have already lived and worked.
Geo-arbitrage with international relocation can give your career change a longer runway to take off
That said, an international move along with your career change can sometimes help. A new environment is like a blank canvas and may help you break out of old habits and limiting beliefs. Going abroad might be the culmination of a dream that begets more momentum to pursue other dreams. From a practical standpoint, living abroad could be so much cheaper that the savings give you extra time for your career change to take off.
A professional colleague of mine moved from the US to Vietnam and went from spending $25,000 per to less than that in a whole year. The savings he arrived with floated him for a long time as he rebuilt his network and professional credibility. He needed the extra runway since it was over two years before his new business made enough to pay him a salary.
Start your career change wherever you are
You don’t have to decide on international v. domestic, or if you’re even moving, before getting started on your career change. With online networks, it’s easy to meet people in all corners of the world without leaving your home. That’s not a substitute for meeting people live, but it’s an efficient and effective way to start. For each country you’re considering, start connecting with people in your target industries, companies and roles. At the very least, you’ll end up making friends!
In the meantime, you can focus on other aspects of your career change, such as figuring out what you want to do next. If you have no idea, read books about prominent people, or books that focus on a specific industry, or general books on career change (see six new career books from 2023 here).
Focus on yourself – the significant other will come along in due time
There is enough to do with career change, international relocation or both, that you can focus on yourself, without worrying about convincing the spouse just yet. That said, unless you’re planning a long-distance relationship, you will eventually need to generate consensus on next steps. This might happen naturally as the significant other learns more about your plans and can more easily and excitedly see themselves in the new scenario.
Find more tips on getting your spouse on board on the Hack Your Wealth podcast. The book, Couples That Work by Jennifer Petriglieri, is also a great read for dual-career couples navigating life transitions.