Marc and his wife have a few reasons for planning a move to Mexico in 2018, but mainly it involves the high cost of healthcare in the U.S. Marc will not retire but will continue to run his company from Mexico.
Listen in for how you can research whether Mexico or Central America is right for your family.
[1:28] Marc announces his first audience survey on what demographic listens to the podcast, what you like, and what you would like to hear about in the future. Please take the survey at CareerPivot.com/PodcastSurvey. This will redirect you to a Survey Monkey page. Marc will keep the survey going through 2017 to hear from you.
[2:12] Marc reviews the series format of this podcast for new listeners. Each month, the first episode is an expert interview. The second episode is a career pivot interview. The third episode is of Marc’s choosing. This month it is Marc’s story of taking the family and job abroad. The fourth episode of the month is a Q&A episode with Elizabeth Rabaey.
[3:06] Marc and his wife are moving to Ajijic, Mexico In this episode, he walks through the decision process and their plan for execution. It started with the October 15, 2016 episode of the Money Matters podcast by Hanson and McClain where they interviewed Art Koff of Retired Brains on best international retirement destinations.
[4:17] RetiredBrains.com has a ranking of places to retire overseas. #1 is Ecuador, #2 is Panama, and #3 is Mexico. The analysis considers real estate, expat benefits, cost of living, ease of integration into the community, entertainment and amenities, health care, infrastructure, and climate. The top three destinations were closely-ranked.
[5:11] At the same period Marc received his new health care insurance premium at $1,800.00 a month. They decided to look for another plan on Healthcare.gov. The choices were very limited. Marc’s 2017 premiums and medical costs were $20K.
[6:35] In November, Donald Trump won the presidency. This created uncertainty around the Affordable Care Act. They visited Ecuador. Over half of U.S. retirees overseas return to the U.S. within five years. Also, those in the 60 - 64 age range now are at a disadvantage. Marc and his wife discussed this several of times.
[8:45] Marc read a post on GringoTree.com on assimilation vs. integration. Assimilation is full immersion in the language and culture, standing apart from the expat community. Assimilation leads to more happiness, better eating, better exercise, and a longer life.
[10:40] Marc and his wife visited San Miguel de Allende in Mexico, a popular ex-pat destination. Marc found a webcam on the downtown plaza, filled with expats. They booked an Airbnb. Date a location before moving there.
[12:09] Marc and his wife went to visit places for one-to-two weeks each. San Miguel is typical of much of Mexico — with lots of fireworks. There were many Canadians, U.S. citizens, and some Europeans. There are no chain pharmacies or supermarkets there but family-owned stores with only the most common medicines and foods.
[15:18] San Miguel at about 5,000 feet may cause some altitude sickness. San Miguel is about a 90-minute shuttle bus ride from the airport. Flight scheduling back to the U.S. is difficult.
[16:50] The Millers next went to Cuenca, Ecuador. Cuenca was difficult to get to due to flight schedules. Quito and Guayaquil are two other popular cities for expats. Ecuador has some high-altitude cities, such as Cuenca, and most Americans leave there within a couple of years.
[19:03] Mrs. Miller was experiencing overwhelming fatigue. They cut their visit after five days. It took three days to get to Austin from Cuenca, and then Mrs. Miller went to the hospital. She was very anemic.
[19:37] The fruits and vegetables in Ecuador don’t resemble fruits and vegetables in the U.S., but they are good. Repair or maintenance is offered mañana, by which they mean, ‘not today.’ Bills are paid by check at the bank, not online. It is a cash-based culture. Ecuador uses the U.S. dollar.
[20:47] The Millers went to Ajijic in October, and that is their planned destination. Ajijic is on Lake Chapala, the largest lake in Mexico, and just south of Guadalajara, Mexico’s second-largest city, and is very easy to get to with multiple U.S. flights daily. Ajijic is 25 minutes by cab. Thousands of U.S. and Canadian expats live there in an ideal climate.
[22:13] Marc and his wife found the community to be very supportive. Everybody was so nice. They all say Ajijic is the best location in Mexico for expats. There is one paved street in town, alongside the lake. Every other street is cobblestones.
[24:46] The Millers are going to go back to Ajijic for a month next March, and shop for doctors, insurance, and rental properties.
[25:43] Marc talks about Necessary Endings, a book he considers life-changing. A good gardener will trim a rosebush so the buds that are left will flourish. We need to do the same things with careers, relationships, and more.
[27:14] Marc has lived in Austin Texas for almost 40 years. Why is he still there? No other family members live near. Marc can work from anywhere.Taxes are too high. It’s expensive to live in Austin now. The health insurance costs in Texas are high, so they are looking. Austin is an expensive city.
[23:29] In March, Marc and his wife will go down to Ajijic next March, shop for doctors, health insurance, and rental properties. The plan is to go down there for six months to a year, next July. They will also visit Costa Rica, Panama and Belize. Then they will make decision. International House Hunter has given Marc some ideas for selecting a home.
[29:19] Marc is not looking for a vacation resort, but for a community of expats and locals populated 12 months of the year. That describes Ajijic.
[29:32] The Millers will rent out their Austin home while they travel. They haven’t made a permanent decision yet as to the move. They may come back. This is a journey to take one step at a time.
[30:43] Marc mentions a post on GringoTree from Ecuador about health insurance. The state health insurance is about $80.00 monthly. People retire overseas either out of adventure, or necessity. The author of the post and his wife lived on SS $1,200 monthly.
[33:30] This is a deliberate and thoughtful journey for the Miller family.
[36:06] Next week is the Q&A episode.
CareerPivot.com/PodcastSurvey or CareerPivot.com/Podcast-Survey
Hanson & McClain’s Money Matters podcast Best International Retirement 10/15/2016
Retiredbrains.com/retiring-abroad.html
Money.cnn.com/2017/11/09/news/economy/obamacare-early-retirees/
SanMiguelrealestate.com/san-miguel-de-allende/live-webcam
Chapala.com/wwwboard/webboard.html
Careerpivot.com/2017/necessary-endings-2nd-half-of-life/
CareerPivot.com/Episode-54 Interview with author and career pivoter Susan Lahey
Please pick up a copy of Repurpose Your Career: A Practical Guide for the 2nd Half of Life, by Marc Miller and Susan Lahey The paperback and ebook formats are available now. When you have completed reading the book, Marc would very much appreciate your leaving an honest review on Amazon.com. Marc has completed recording the audio version of the book and will be editing it the week of Thanksgiving. He hopes to have it available before the end of November 2017.
Marc has a prototype running of the paid membership community of the CareerPivot.com website. Marc has an initial cohort of members helping him. Marc is opening a wait list if you want to participate.Sign up at CareerPivot.com/Community.
CareerPivot.com/Episode-55 Show Notes for this episode.
You can find Show Notes at Careerpivot.com/repurpose-career-podcast.
Please take a moment — go to iTunes, Stitcher, or Google Play. Give this podcast an honest review and subscribe! If you’re not sure how to leave a review, please go to
CareerPivot.com/review, and read the detailed instructions there.
Marc is taking on new clients. Contact Marc, and ask questions at Careerpivot.com/contact-me or call at 512-693-9132, and leave a message with your email address. Marc will respond with a link to his calendar, to find a time to talk.
Susan Lahey is Marc’s co-author for both Repurpose Your Career books. This is one of the best of the 25-plus interviews Marc has recorded in the last year. Susan is a freelance writer who is driven to take on new challenges, whether that’s writing about the nature of meaning, the scary adventure of changing your career, or truly death-defying acts like jumping out of airplanes and parenting. Marc was Susan’s first real Austin client.
Listen in for thoughts on enduring hardship with bravery and purpose.
Key Takeaways:
[1:14] Marc announces his first audience survey on what demographic listens to the podcast, what you like, and what you would like to hear about in the future. Please take the survey at CareerPivot.com/PodcastSurvey. This will redirect you to a Survey Monkey page. Marc will keep the survey going through 2017 to hear from you.
[1:55] Marc reviews the series format of this podcast for new listeners. The previous episode was an expert interview. This episode is a career pivot interview. The next episode will be Marc’s story of moving abroad and taking the job with him. The fourth episode of the month is a Q&A episode with Elizabeth Rabaey.
[3:43] Marc introduces Susan Lahey and welcomes Susan to the podcast.
[3:52] Susan is always tempted to stay home with her adult children and watch Netflix, paint, and hide out from everyone. So she makes herself go do stuff, instead. She just got a tattoo that says “Life is Short.”
[5:12] Susan was a newspaper reporter for the beginning of her career, at the Kansas City Star, from age 17 until college and as her first job out of school. After several years she got a job as an associate editor at the business lifestyle magazine in KC. She left there to raise a family, freelancing from home.
[5:54] At age 42, Susan was divorced, took the children and moved off the grid to New Mexico, taking what work she could get. The Taos News wanted her as a freelancer but didn’t move on it.
[6:55] She started working as a community liaison for an EPA technical assistance group for a Superfund project. That was tough since she did not speak Spanish and was new to the community. She also did substitute teaching. She was broke.
[7:26] Susan and her children volunteered at a food pantry for the food. Finally, she got on as a freelancer with the Taos News, for maybe $100 an article.
[8:16] Taos was challenging in being far behind the times. Susan was out of touch with the times as a freelancer. She wanted to give her children a better opportunity.
[9:38] After a trip to Europe they were motivated to change their lives. Austin had “a similar vibe” to Taos, a University, and a lot of intellectual capital. Susan rented an apartment and drove the family to Austin to start over.
[10:43] Susan finally sold the Taos house for “five dollars.” At first, she wrote eHow articles, but that was unsatisfying for her. She attended networking events and learned how to market herself online with blogs and web content. She pushed herself, using EMDR psychotherapy to help her overcome fear and stress of networking.
[15:33] Creatives are typically introverted and selling yourself as a creative is really hard for them. Confidence is essential for approaching clients.
[17:26] Marc was Susan’s first major client. Then she got some blogs. Through a contact who was recommended by Marc, she started writing tech news articles for a tech startup publication and finally got paid reasonably. She has covered SXSW for six years and went to Thailand and Norway to see their technologies.
[19:36] Susan got an article in Wired and is hoping to write more for them. She had also written a profile for bootstrap guru Bijoy Goswami, who works people through the psychological risks and fears of starting your own business.
[20:10] Bijoy introduced Susan to his best friend, Danny Gutknecht, and Susan worked with him on one book and other writings. They will write more. Most of her work is with Danny. When Susan has 'bandwidth,' she looks for freelance work online and networks.
[21:15] Susan mentors and one woman she mentored hooked her up with a gig. She still does journalism.
[21:40] Susan was an old-school journalism person. Her idea of journalism came from All the President’s Men. Her sister was a journalist. She never imagined journalism wouldn’t be there for her. Most of her friends who were journalists are out of jobs. Journalism is dying. It can’t find a business model that works today.
[22:36] Susan never imagined she would be a tech writer or a business writer, and she is so glad she pursued both of those because that’s the direction the world is going.
[23:29] When Susan was asked to find her ‘why’ she had never thought about it. She realized that she liked writing about people who were doing scary, brave things. She uses Marc as an example. When he started his business, it was scary new for him, but also, scary new for job pivoters he is helping.
[24:41] For the most part, Susan’s career pivot has turned out amazingly. She’s definitely not rich, but she’s supporting herself, doing what she loves. It fuels her as well as paying her.
[25:09] Marc is proud of Susan. In spite of her hard times, she survived. Her three great children have gone to college on full scholarships, and are doing well. Her oldest is teaching English in Tangier, as Susan continues to enjoy her career.
[25:49] People tell Susan she’s brave, but they have no idea how hard she has to work to be brave. She’s sometimes afraid, but she just makes herself do things. She recommends people examine why they act a certain way, or go in a certain direction. People need to steer their own ship. Susan hopes to move to Morocco next year.
[28:57] Marc has been working with Susan since 2012, when she went through an early version of Marc’s career pivot evaluation. If you would like to know more about this process, listen to episodes 48 through 51 — a series called, “Can Tim Repurpose His Career?”
[31:27] Next week’s episode will be all about the process of the Miller’s move to Ajijic, Mexico in 2018. Marc is moving, but not retiring. He will run everything from Mexico.
Mentioned in This Episode:
CareerPivot.com/PodcastSurvey or CareerPivot.com/Podcast-Survey
CareerPivot.com/review, and read the detailed instructions there.
CareerPivot.com/Episode-48 “Can Tim Repurpose His Career? Part 1”
CareerPivot.com/Episode-49 “Can Tim Repurpose His Career? Part 2”
CareerPivot.com/Episode-50 “Can Tim Repurpose His Career? Part 3”
CareerPivot.com/Episode-51 “Can Tim Repurpose His Career? Part 4”
Please pick up a copy of Repurpose Your Career: A Practical Guide for the 2nd Half of Life, by Marc Miller and Susan Lahey The paperback and ebook formats are available now. When you have completed reading the book, Marc would very much appreciate your leaving an honest review on Amazon.com. Marc has completed recording the audio version of the book and will be editing it the week of Thanksgiving. He hopes to have it available before the end of November 2017.
Marc has a prototype running of the paid membership community of the CareerPivot.com website. Marc has an initial cohort of members helping him. Marc is opening a wait list if you want to participate.Sign up at CareerPivot.com/Community.
CareerPivot.com/Episode-54 Show Notes for this episode.
You can find Show Notes at Careerpivot.com/repurpose-career-podcast.
Please take a moment — go to iTunes, Stitcher, or Google Play. Give this podcast an honest review and subscribe! If you’re not sure how to leave a review, please go to
CareerPivot.com/review, and read the detailed instructions there.
Marc is taking on new clients. Contact Marc, and ask questions at Careerpivot.com/contact-me or call at 512-693-9132, and leave a message with your email address. Marc will respond with a link to his calendar, to find a time to talk.
Thea Kelley provides one-on-one job search and interview coaching to help you get a great job sooner. Drawing on 20 years of experience in career services, writing, editing, and coaching, she has facilitated career breakthroughs for job seekers in a wide range of occupations and industries. Thea’s clients have successfully landed roles from entry-level to senior executive, often surmounting tricky obstacles, making major changes in their careers. Thea is the author of Get That Job: The Quick and Complete Guide to a Winning Interview, which has been very positively reviewed by Forbes. The book is available from Amazon and other fine online booksellers.
Listen in for actionable advice to prepare you for your next great interview.
Key Takeaways:
[:56] Marc invites the audience to listen to Episode 52, the 1st Anniversary special, and episodes 48 to 51, the four-episode series “Can Tim Repurpose His Career?” if you haven’t listened to them yet.
[1:15] Marc announces his first audience survey on what demographic listens to the podcast, what you like, and what you would like to hear about in the future. Please take the survey at CareerPivot.com/PodcastSurvey. This will redirect you to a Survey Monkey page. Marc will keep the survey going through 2017 to hear from you.
[2:00] Marc returns to the normal sequence of episodes. This week is an interview with jobs expert Thea Kelley. Next week will be an interview with a career pivoter. The third week, Marc will take you through the process of his moving the podcast with his family to another country. The fourth week will be a Q&A with Elizabeth Rabaey.
[3:10] Marc introduces Thea Kelley and welcomes Thea to the podcast.
[4:11] Thea notes that she is often described with words starting with ‘in’: introverted, insightful, and intuitive. She has always been fascinated by what goes on inside herself and inside others; our psychology and how we communicate. As a teenager, she wrote poetry. As an adult, she writes business communications.
[4:44] These days, Thea is coaching people on how to communicate with prospective employers to get great jobs.That taps into her interest in psychology — who we are inside — and getting that truth out there in a way that works.
[5:00] Thea says the main thing that will cost the offer to someone in the second half of life interviewing for a job is the lack of interview skills. Don’t go in unprepared. Know your top three or five skills you want to emphasize in your interview, which are your selling points for this job. Most people haven’t given much thought to that.
[6:03] Thea says there is a risk of ageism and age discrimination. Many interviewers prefer to hire someone within a certain age range, whether they’re conscious of it or not. It’s not legal, but it happens. Mark Anthony Dyson calls this unconscious bias.
[6:37] Thea says one of the most important things is to be aware of the stereotypes people have about people in the second half of life. In your interview, make a point of demonstrating that those stereotypes don’t apply to you.
[7:11] Marc tells his clients to demonstrate technological adeptness and energy. Thea says to convey energy and enthusiasm in the interview by sharing stories about times when you worked really hard or really fast, or motivated others with your enthusiasm and passion, or went above and beyond requirements.
[7:50] Go above and beyond requirements for the interview itself. Thea’s clients have brought well-research proposed action plans for the job’s first month to an interview. Very likely, they were the only candidates to do so. That made the candidates stand out.
[8:19] Marc tells of a 65-year-old candidate who was run through the gauntlet of seven interviews in an eight-hour day, with a break for lunch. Marc insisted the candidate should bring energy bars to eat between interviews. Take care of your body.
[9:25] Thea examines other ageism stereotypes. Health is a major issue. Be healthy when you interview. Look healthy. Experts recommend exercising while in the process of your job search. Take care of your skin and your hair. Use a moisturizing sunscreen. Cultivate posture. Don’t slouch.
[10:28] Show that you embrace new technologies. Use a smartphone. Be willing to text with the interviewer. Be familiar and comfortable with Google Docs.
[11:03] Show that you are mentally sharp and have a good memory. Review dates and figures of your job accomplishments before going into the interview, so you don’t stumble over the numbers. Ask if you can take a few notes during the interview, but don’t take a lot of notes. After the interview, you can fill out your notes in private.
[12:00] Some people may feel older people are not innovative. Have stories ready about things you did that were innovative. People may feel your experience is outdated, so be sure to talk about your most recent experiences.
[12:17] If you have to talk about something that happened seven or even 10 years ago, avoid mentioning the year. Another stereotype is that older people are unwilling to work late, evenings, or weekends. If you are willing to have those opportunities, give examples of when you have worked over, or at unusual hours.
[12:40] If you want to keep to regular hours, tell stories of your efficient, focused working methods that allow you to get your work done within regular hours.
[12:54] To avoid the appearance of being overqualified, you may omit some of your excess experience. If the new job is at a lower level than you are used to, have a really good answer for why you want that job when previously you’ve held a higher job. Make sure it is an honest answer about why climbing the corporate ladder is not your goal.
[14:08] You have to have your story down on why you are looking for a lesser position. It’s not a desperation move. Emphasize your passion and enthusiasm for the things you are involved in outside of the job, without getting carried away. Don’t say you don’t want to work the hours anymore you previously worked! Say what you do want to do.
[15:58] When you take notes in an interview, don’t bring a big book. A small pad. A number of adults take notes in full sentences. That’s a bad look. Jot down a key word now and then. Write full notes later in your car. Review the questions, to prepare for future interviews.
[18:43] Use the thank you (follow up) note to continue the conversation. You want them to hear from you about once a week to update them that you’re still very interested, and what you’ve been researching about the job.
[20:43] Don’t make stuff up about whether they have already made a decision if you haven’t heard from them. Just check in once a week, and they will let you know.
[20:54] The follow up note should be email if you are in tech. In a more personal industry you may send a paper note. When in doubt, go with an email. You can follow up with a card. In the email, reiterate your key selling points, such as important certifications, and the experience you have that meets or exceeds their needs.
[23:39] When you interview with a younger hiring manager, first consider your own bias. CareerBuilder did a survey that showed most older employees are happy working for a younger boss. Show that you will respect their knowledge and skills. Listen actively. Ask good questions, and do not go into teacher mode. Don’t call attention to age differences.
[26:03] Impress the interviewer by asking really good, probing questions to which you may already know the answer. Listen attentively.
[26:39] Dress for the interview in contemporary, graceful style. But do your interview how they dress at the job. Dress a level above what you would actually wear to do the job.
[29:08] Be prepared for anything. The social mores of the younger generation may be different. Don’t impose your opinion of how things may be. Don’t appear startled or look disapproving. You may see tattoos and unusual piercings.
[30:58] Not every interviewer is ageist. Many of them will value your experience. There is no job seeker who doesn’t have something that will count against them in interviews. You are not alone with this big problem. These things don’t have to hold you back. The maturity to prepare diligently for the interview can really give you a huge advantage.
Mentioned in This Episode:
CareerPivot.com/PodcastSurvey or CareerPivot.com/Podcast-Survey
CareerPivot.com/review, and read the detailed instructions there.
CareerPivot.com/Episode-48 “Can Tim Repurpose His Career? Part 1”
CareerPivot.com/Episode-49 “Can Tim Repurpose His Career? Part 2”
CareerPivot.com/Episode-50 “Can Tim Repurpose His Career? Part 3”
CareerPivot.com/Episode-51 “Can Tim Repurpose His Career? Part 4”
CareerPivot.com/Episode-52 “1st Anniversary Special Episode”
Get That Job: The Quick and Complete Guide to a Winning Interview, by Thea Kelley
GreatJobSooner.com Subscribe to Thea’s blog and receive a free report on how to stand out in interviews.
Please pick up a copy of Repurpose Your Career: A Practical Guide for the 2nd Half of Life, by Marc Miller and Susan Lahey The paperback and ebook formats are available now. When you have completed reading the book, Marc would very much appreciate your leaving an honest review on Amazon.com. Marc is recording the audio version of the book, and he plans to have it available in late November 2017.
Marc has a prototype running of the paid membership community of the CareerPivot.com website. Marc has an initial cohort of members helping him. Marc is opening a wait list if you want to participate.Sign up at CareerPivot.com/Community.
CareerPivot.com/Episode-53 Show Notes for this episode.
You can find Show Notes at Careerpivot.com/repurpose-career-podcast.
Please take a moment — go to iTunes, Stitcher, or Google Play. Give this podcast an honest review and subscribe! If you’re not sure how to leave a review, please go to
Marc is taking on new clients. Contact Marc, and ask questions at Careerpivot.com/contact-me or call at 512-693-9132, and leave a message with your email address. Marc will respond with a link to his calendar, to find a time to talk.