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Market focus: This bird has flown

MediaPost Publications, 1/1/09

Abstract:

Is the nest half-full or half-empty?

It was a dark and stormy night in Rodanthe when Diane Lane and Richard Gere gazed longingly into each other's eyes and realized that being middle-aged doesn't mean you're not still hot. This romantic tearjerker is an iconic example of the meme of the empty nester: a couple with no responsibilities and enough money to do what they want in whatever romantic location they want to do it in. (See also: innumerable ads for pills to get all those gorgeous and eager silver-haired men into motion when they're in the mood.)

But this stereotype is due for a makeover, according to Sharon Whiteley, CEO of ThirdAge Media, which publishes an eponymous Web site for people of a certain age. That age milestone, however, doesn't necessarily mean the nest is empty.

In a new study of 6,000 people in their early 40s to late 60s, ThirdAge found that 35 percent still had children living at home. Meanwhile, about 8 percent of them had never married, and 38 percent were now single.

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