End of an era in NYC.
(The following blog entry was originally posted on Blogger on 06/04/18)
If you read my last posting, you have an idea of what went down in 2017. The avalanche of unfortunate professional events that triggered our move-in with my mother-in-law seemed like a bad joke, and my wife and I were the punchline.
As of this writing, we've been holed up in my MIL's Upper West Side apartment for 6 months, trying to be caregivers, to stabilize her dilapidated old apartment, and be good stewards of her life. It hasn't worked out well. It ended up costing us all so much more than we'd planned, both financially and emotionally.
We finally decided in May to retain a Medicare/Medicaid consultancy to fast-track her into Medicaid, and get her set up with home health aides and in-home care. Nothing in the process was easy, but, she will begin receiving the benefits within the next two weeks. So at least we accomplished something.
Having said that, on June 23 we'll be leaving my MIL's place — to return to our lovely, previous apartment (the very expensive one I mentioned in my last blog posting) for the last month of our lease. We'll then begin preparations to leave NYC.
9 months and about 150 job applications later, it has become clear: very few companies hire new employees over age 50, especially creative directors like me. Experiencing this first-hand has been painful. I'd assume New York City is no different than anywhere else in the U.S. And because of that bias, we have no choice but to pack up and leave.
Despite seeing many more open CD positions here than in other markets, NYC wants younger instead of older. Age bias continues to be rampant in the corporate world. Everyone knows it, every company is guilty of it, and yet it continues. Older workers are stupid, and young people know everything. Right. Good luck with Google and Facebook and programmatic ad buying. When that fails, lay off everyone and hire newer, younger people. Rinse and repeat.
What a bummer. I've been here 31 years. My whole professional career has been spent in NYC and the tri-state area. My wife grew up here, and in fact, grew up in my MIL's apartment (the one mentioned above). She left the city to go to college out in New Mexico and Washington, then eventually came back via a job offer in the early 2000s. We both have survived here, and some years, have prospered. She was diagnosed with Lyme disease in 2005, and has suffered tremendously in the years since then. She has been on disability since 2005. And with my layoff in October 2017, it only made life more difficult. All things considered, we now feel it's time to go, and go somewhere affordable. Fortunately for us, we do have somewhere else to go.
I bought a condo in Palm Harbor, Florida in 2012. Ostensibly it was an investment designed to benefit my mom. She found the condo while apartment hunting one day, and I bought it as a short sale. It was a steal, and it timed the bottom of the real estate crisis. My mother had been living in it since then, and for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is our "crisis" here, she decided to move out this month.
So, now our sights are set on the Tampa/St. Petersburg area. We have a lot to do before the last box is packed and shipped, but it looks like we'll be relocated by the end of July.
My brother and his family also live in that area, so it'll be nice to spend more time with them. Go to the beach. Play cards. Maybe even go to the Keys and snorkel or scuba dive. Get in better shape. Enjoy sunsets. We're really hoping this will effect some positive changes in our lives. I'm not a big fan of Florida, but maybe it'll open some doors. We'll see.
Wish us luck.