You and I have a lot in common. I'm an attorney who spent most of my career in a litigation management/major loss capacity for insurers, then had a solo private practice for 3+ years. Two years ago we knew DH's retirement was on the horizon within a year or two, and I would have 10+/- more years to work. I had closed my practice and gone back into the insurance world in a capacity that paid decently, but wasn't any great shakes in the fulfillment department.

We started talking about where we wanted to retire and settled on New Mexico. Then we started talking about when to do it. I was 48 and could have put in 10 years in Alabama, then moved. Or I could take what was left of my youth and throw it at the job market in NM and we could go ahead and make the move.

The states lacked reciprocity, so I couldn't waive in (if you can, you should do it). I managed to find a risk management job in state government. I sat for the NM bar in February and passed (thank heaven) and am now an attorney for a large, drama-prone state agency (= job security). I'd never worked in government before, and I find different things to like and loathe about it every day. However, it's steady (if low) pay with benefits and pension potential if I stick around to vest.

If you can waive in to TN, I would consider looking for another government spot to allow for a soft landing. You could then take the opportunity to look around and see what other opportunities arise. Perhaps in the non-profit world, or in a non-attorney role in an agency (compliance, EEO, risk management, etc.).

One of the reasons we made the move when we did was that I was still in my 40s when looking for jobs. I believe 50 is a barrier when job hunting, and I wanted to get in under the wire. If you need to provide/pay for benefits, you'll need to work even if you're also going to school. Perhaps look for something at a university?

This probably isn't what you are thinking, but with your education and skills could you open a small practice and specialize in some non-stressful areas of the law? If healthcare is big in your new community, then I'm guessing lots of retirees? What about specializing in wills and trusts, powers of attorneys, etc? I worked for legal aid for many years and over the years a few of our attorneys ended up doing that kind of law when they left our agency. They all loved it, from what I know. The income is good and steady, no big deadlines or trials to prepare for, etc. Just a thought.

I'm a law school grad but never wanted to practice law (that lack-of-ambition thing, LOL). If you enjoy/ are good at writing, have you ever thought of doing writing for law firms ?

Most firms do not do their own writing and if you learn some basic principles of search engine optimization (in case you do not know them already) and are a good writer, there is an almost infinite supply of work. I've built my business in this field and it is not only lucrative and interesting but I also get to work whenever and wherever I want to, totally from home and making my own hours doing as much or as little as I want (nothing like making a living sitting on a porch swing)…

You could also see if there is a local career college where you could teach paralegal studies and related courses. I did that for a while, and no teaching degree is needed if you have a law degree. Pay is not great but if you pick up a few classes per semester…

I'm curious, beagles. What type of writing do you do for law firms? I have an in- house job and I am thinking of winding that down in the next few years. Writing from home in a way that pays is intriguing.

I'm not an attorney (engineer) but have been associated with several attorneys both at work in the Government and with some retired and active attorneys at our lake condo.

At the condo association, we have several who have served on the Board on a volunteer basis. A couple of them are retired but do arbitration (one was a former judge) & some other part time work. Another is still full-time but since he's part of our condo association, he volunteers his services when needed. We have had a couple of tricky situations with a neighboring marina I won't go into here but their expertise saved us lots of fees & time.

I don't know what part of TN you'll be moving to, but there could be some Government jobs to move into but obviously those are getting harder to come by. We're in North AL, very close to TN. A lot of people do commute from TN. But if you're looking for part-time, I wouldn't do it. Too stressful. Healthcare fields, on the other hand, do pay pretty well in TN from what I've heard from my DD and DDIL's who are in that field. Hopefully you can find something related. And if you are near a large city such as Nashville, Knoxville, or Memphis, there are a couple of universities & some private ones that should offer excellent teaching opportunities.

Check into some non-traditional careers as well. Consider becoming self-employed, it will provide a lot of flexibility. I have a second career as an officiant that I enjoy very much.

I'm in Tennessee! I'm curious as to where you will be moving. Also, I work for a university but I'm a government employee also. I wondered how long you have worked for your agency? I have "my time in" and am presently working part-time. However, if I retire, I will have my family insurance coverage until I'm eligible for medicare. Do you have that option? If so, another reason you may want to look at something in a gov't agency here - your time would swap over.

sas95 I write web pages and blog posts (commenting on court decisions, news stories, etc.) It is almost exclusively for personal injury and criminal law, although I do have some family law and some trusts and estate clients. The goal is so when someone searches "drunk driving accident lawyer in NY" for example, my client's pages come up first.

It is very flexible, and the pay is quite good if you are good at it. Let me know if you have other questions. If you are seriously interested, you can also email me and I'll give you some info about how I got started…

Perhaps consider going into the field of Planned Giving for a non-profit. I used to do fund development , mostly major gifts and annual giving as well as planned giving. If you work for an organization whose work is dear to you, it can be very fulfilling. Many lawyers with a background in trusts and estates do well in that line of work.

Beagles, is a legal background in order to do legal writing?

My neighbor was a lawyer in another state and she got a job working for a public company that audits governmental agencies. She works from home and she said she basically reviews reports. I know it's low stress and 9-5. I wish I could remember the company name!

Medical coding could be difficult to get into. I know of many medical transcriptionists trying to get into the field of coding and the window of opportunity seems to be narrowing on that one. Jakabedy, my DH works in NM government, I think drama prone describes many of our state agencies well. I think you are pretty safe in your assumption of job security. :)

Tishtosh, we need to get together! I tried to send you a PM but you don't have messages enabled n your profile. We can get LynninNM and make it an enchanted trio.

Thanks so much everyone for all the of the great input! I don't know that I'm interested in practicing any kind of law once we move and don't have experience with some of the areas mentioned like estate planning, but when I last checked it was possible for me to waive in so I'll do that to keep my options open. I was really hoping for a slower, more calm, less stressful way of life with the move and - for my perfectionist, fear of failure, and dislike of confrontation type personality, at least - practicing law doesn't seem to allow for that.

Perhaps another type of job in government or non-profit would be a good choice for me, though, as suggested by dedtired, outsideplaying and jakabedy. My undergrad is in sociology with a social work concentration, and at one point I was considering pursuing a Master's in Social Work. I really like helping and communicating with people and consider client interaction to be the best part of my job. However, with social work I'm not sure that I wouldn't be trading one stressful position for another. I do have experience in Healthcare law, so I might be able to transition into a policy or operational type role.

I was thinking of teaching youngsters (K-12) mainly because of the schedule, which would give me more time with my young daughter, and something in the medical field because we'll be near Nashville, where I understand the medical industry is quite large.

Beagles - I am definitely interested in learning more about legal writing and how you got started. Do you actually design the websites or just handle the seo writing for law firms? Working from my future front porch sounds heavenly!

jakabedy - love your references to "drama-prone" government agencies and finding different things to like and loathe about it every day! I have over 20 years in and, while I consider myself very fortunate to have worked with wonderful people and handled such interesting issues, what makes my job so interesting also makes it very stressful. I seem to be getting worn down and sick lately due to stress, heavy workload, and demanding deadlines. Also, I read somewhere that attorneys are trained worriers and I can relate to that. I can't imagine work without drama but would like to try it out in my last stage of employment before retirement!

Magdalenalee - that sounds like a great job with low stress and 9-5. I do have some regulatory and and compliance experience in my law practice that might transition well into that type of position. I am also very detail oriented and have significant experience in interpreting state and federal laws, reading various reports, and spotting issues.

diane - I'm not opposed to self-employment although I've always worked as an employee, and primarily as a public employee. An officiant sounds interesting!

Tinam - we'll be in Franklin near Leiper's Fork area. I fell in love with the area! Working in a university with college students would also be very interesting for me. I worked for a time as a career counselor/advisor for a law school and really enjoyed it, although I would prefer to work with undergrads who are seeking guidance in various industries. I'm not sure if I would need to have a Master's in Counseling to do that type of work at a university, but maybe I could find a lower level administrative position.

Sorry for any typos - I had a long, stressful day and work and am tired but I was really excited to read though these comments and respond!

Beagles, I would love to hear from you further on this but you don't have messaging enabled. Can you please either enable your messaging or message me? Thanks!

Juddgirl2, happy to provide more info. I'll try to enable messaging, send me a PM.

Juddgirl, you'll be in a beautiful area. We're about an hour and a half away just outside Huntsvile, AL. Franklin is a charming little town. And yes, Nashville is booming. There is Vanderbilt, which is renowned for its medical facility, law school, and undergrad university as well. And there are some small colleges around too. Belmont is one and I believe they also have a law school.

Jakabedy, once the chaos that is summer has passed, we certainly should.

dawnidea, they pretty much require a law degree before they'll hire you for most of the legal stuff I do.

sas- sent you a message and I believe I also changed my settings so I can now be contacted…

Juddgirl - we just "found" Leipers Fork a few years ago. I read an article in Southern Living about it and we found a darling little cottage to rent - family owned (had been in the family for many, many years) and they had many family antiques, etc. in the home. That area is lovely - many horse farms in that vicinity. Now, Nashville, it is okay, but I am very much a country girl LOL. There are some nice antique shops in Franklin. I was going to mention Vanderbilt and Belmont. There are many state offices/departments in Nashville and it is possible your previous time might carry over, you should check into that.

We live close to the Smoky Mountains - we're a good 3 hours, 3.5 hours from you.

Jakabedy, I'd be happy to meet for lunch some day. Seww1 is also living near enough to meet with us as well, if she's interested.

Divorce mediation came to my mind. We used a mediator when I got divorced, and it was so much better than the alternative. I don't know how contentious it can get (my ex and I got through it without a lot of drama), but I think in general couples who choose mediation want to make it an conflict-free as possible. Again, a whole new area of law.

Outsideplaying and tinam - it was Franklin and Leipers Fork that I fell in love with, but having Nashville so close by is an added bonus and hopefully a draw for friends and the adult kids to visit often! I'd love to visit Alabama and the Knoxville areas.

gsciencechic - thank you for the information. I'd like to teach at the community college level but thought I'd need a Masters degree and I'm not too sure if jobs would be available if I decided to get one. Substituting K-12 before getting a teaching credential is a good idea.

cawaps - I like the idea of mediation but I'm not sure about divorce. I know family law litigation can be heartbreaking and pretty stressful, but mediation might be quite different and a good option to consider.

I suppose the smartest decision might be to stay here and finish out my time so I can earn a higher income and have my full pension. That's definitely an option, but I'm thinking it might be better to make the move sooner and while my daughter is still young enough to transition.

juddgirl, I'm a mid-life MSW and I'll say that it doesn't lead to many low-stress, low-confrontation jobs and most entry-level jobs for MSWs don't pay enough to warrant the cost of the degree. I'm in a job market similar to the one you'll face in Tennessee and nearly everyone I went to MSW school with five years ago regrets the degree due to low pay and high-stress positions.

That said, if you do attend an MSW program you will make valuable community and employment connections while you are in school, and with your law degree in hand as well, you will no doubt have a different pool of jobs open to you than the "average" MSW.

My advice to anyone of any age about getting an MSW is to find five people in the area where you might want to practice, who have been working as MSWs for at least five years, and ask them whether they would advise their own child or best friend to pursue an MSW. My experience suggests that 4 out of 5 will advise against it. My DD wants to follow in my footsteps and I am working hard to convince her otherwise. MSW school is a racket if ever there was one.

One of my neighbors was an attorney for a big Philadelphia firm and when she tired of the stress and long work days she took a job at a bank in the compliance department. She loves it - boring yes, but regular hours and she's happy her salary.

Another MSW here. I used mine to become a program director at a senior citizen center. Not stressful, rewarding and fun. Many of my fellow students went on to private practice, and one became a professor. I was 26 at the time, but many were older and changing careers.

At my school we were divided into concentrations. Case work, group work, community work and administration. I don't know if it is like this today, but it shows the various directions one can go in. I did group work, with case work classes as well.

It's true that the salaries are low, but there are ways to work your way up in the ranks.

If you really want to invest in a two year degree, there might be something else that might suit you as well. I would look at a career manuel cover to cover, something that you have not thought of might strike a cord.

Ellendi, thank you for sharing your MSW experience. In the next year, I will be looking for a change and it's great to hear you find your work fun. It's true that when I grumbled about how unhappy my classmates are, I was thinking of those of us in the clinical and medical social work fields. My position is clinical and super stressful--I need to aim for fun the next time I am making a move!

Juddgirl, have you thought of educational mediation? A good mediator can bring families and school systems together to provide better services for children. You could choose which cases you wanted to take so you would have flexibility, it would be very meaningful, rewarding work, and once you developed a reputation, you'd have so much work, you'd have to turn some away.

maggiepatty and ellendi - thanks so much for telling more about prospects for an MSW degree. Its great to get 2 different perspectives.

marie cate and larecoltante - those are great options. I haven't heard of educational mediation but that sounds interesting. Compliance might be a good fit for my legal experience.

Does anyone have any input on whether a Masters in public administration with a concentration in heatlthcare administration might be helpful in finding a good position in the Nashville area?

There are a lot of hospitals in the Nashville area, so I would imagine a health admin degree might be helpful. I don't know if the job market is oversaturated.

As far as teaching at the college level, your JD should qualify you to teach in certain areas. As I mentioned typically it's masters degree (at least) and 18 graduate hours in a content area. I have a colleague in my program with a JD who works in sport law. We also have another person from athletics with a JD who teaches for us part time.

Thanks for the information, gsciencechic. I'll have to look into teaching a bit more.