Why I Moved From SoCal to Oklahoma

Random memory. I remember witnessing a lot of Boomer parents go into a funk as we Gen-X'ers were entering into our adulthood. Some of us were heading off to college, moving out of town getting our own places or even getting married. It almost felt like the beginning of the end for a lot of our parents. Why? Because after years and years of controlling & calling the shots for their kids, these moms and dads suddenly had nothing left to hover over & instead of feeling liberated and free to live their best lives, they seemed lost and alone. Keep in mind, I also came from a generation where miserably unhappy parents didn't really get divorced, they just stayed together forever out of obligation. So hindsight, no wonder empty nesting seemed so unappealing to many of these parents.

They just felt stuck and alone together.

Ps. Please note, I'm not generalizing an entire generation. I realize there's also a lot of happy & still married Boomers & Gen-X'ers out there...this is simply a reflection piece. ;)

Fast forward to today, where we Gen-X'ers are now empty nesters ourselves. Only our generation's entry point shows up post-pandemic where we had to quickly learn how to embrace Zoom Culture & where Botox society has coined 50 the new 35. ..add to the mix the fact that divorce is more common than not. Many parents today that have reached their empty-nester stage of life are either downsizing to live in vibrant communities that suits their lifestyle, or they're actively tending to their travel bucket lists (either married, solo or paired up), OR they're coming out of the pandemic leaning into entrepreneurial & nomadic lifestyles. That's right, we're seeing more and more empty nesters getting start-up or vagabond fever now that we have the time to lean in & commit to more than PTO meetings & carpool. It's actually really invigorating to see all these moms and dads recognizing that their 2nd half of life can be just as fulfilling as the first half, it just took a little getting uncomfortable to make it all come together.

Where do I fall in this Gen-X / Empty Nester category? Honestly, I'm a bit of all 3. I'm divorced, adventurous and also very entrepreneurial. Don't get me wrong, I've definitely shed my share of "Woe is me, my babies are all grown up!" tears, but I also feel a huge sense of accomplishment knowing that I've raised 3 young adults that are not snowflakes, have strong work ethic & are capable of making their own decisions. In my opinion this is certainly cause to celebrate and so for this next phase of life, I want to do all the things that make me feel vibrant & bring me joy. For me this looks like taking big risks. Such as leaning into career roles later in life where the people who are calling the shots are my kids age instead of my parents or grandparents age. Personally I'm totally cool with it, because we raised these Millennials & Gen Z'ers to be assertive & smart, so we really need to learn how to successfully work well together if we want to generate the best end results. Another big risk I took early on was embracing social media as a lifestyle, rather than only seeing it as a mindless way for kids to appease boredom. I've actually gained so much by building community via social & working with both Millennials and Gen Z'ers over the past 10 years. I honestly think it's this willingness and openness to learn from those younger than me that has skyrocketed my career trajectory at this stage of my life. For example, I was on a Zoom huddle about 6 months ago when I overheard a conversation about a handful of cities that are incentivizing remote workers to move to their city to work for a at least a year to help stimulate their economy. When I first heard about this concept, I figured they were only interested in early career, young adults or bootstrapping startups, but I'm so pleased to learn I WAS COMPLETELY WRONG!

What I found is that many of these cities offering remote work incentives, such as Tulsa Remote are looking for a diverse range of people (from all ages, backgrounds & abilities) that are willing to go with the flow, remain open-minded, lean into a growth mindset & are extremely interested in community building as a pastime. All the things that are at the core of my being & are how I choose to live my life as a vibrant empty-nester. So needless to say I was thrilled when I was recently accepted into the Tulsa Remote program. In fact, at this very moment I'm writing this newsletter to you from my AirBnB in Tulsa, Oklahoma as I take a break from looking at houses to call my new home. Stay tuned over the course of the next year as I bring you monthly updates about the ups, the downs, the culture, the opportunities & the adventures that ensue as I actively lean into this Nomadic-Zoom-Culture-Empty-Nester bliss. I appreciate all of you that are currently subscribing & if there's something in particular you'd like to have me write about, please ping me and let me know!

*Ps. Please consider sharing this newsletter to your LinkedIn feed or to your favorite social channel if you think there's others out there that might benefit from following this journey as well.

Last but not least, if you're interested in the seeing the weekly photos & mini-video clips of the adventure, please check out my stories at www.instagram.com/staceysoleil