People in midlife today are more active than in the past: New book and research by RSU visiting professor Aija Lulle

In the 21st-century demography, we see more people in midlife than ever before, creating an entire generation burdened with responsibilities for both their children and their aging parents—while also expected to remain active in the workforce longer than ever! What are the consequences of this? These issues have been explored in a new book by sociologist and researcher of migration mobility and social inequality, Aija Lulle, Associate Visiting Professor at the Faculty of Social Sciences of Rīga Stradiņš University, Acting Lead Researcher at the Social Sciences Research Centre, and Associate Professor at the University of Eastern Finland, discusses this in the Latvian Radio programme 'Known in the Unknown' / 'Zināmais nezināmajā.'

Aija Lulle’s new book in English is titled 'Midlife Geographies: Changing Lifecourses Across Generations, Spaces and Time'.

Is it easy to be in midlife? – asks programme host Sandra Kropa. “It’s not easy—most likely it’s very difficult, but also highly individual. There are certain patterns, especially when we look at gender differences; women often share many common experiences,” says Aija Lulle, Visiting Professor at RSU, at the start of the conversation.

What exactly is meant by the term “midlife geography,” as used in the title of the book? “In Latvian, midlife is often phrased more poetically in books—as a transitional phase or the middle stage of life. The word ‘midlife’ has a tone... associated with aging.

We often don’t want to know anything about that, we resist it and prefer to call it a midlife transition, a second youth, or even a third spring. But encountering aging is important—

not only psychologically but also on a societal level,” explains the researcher.

She clarifies that “midlife geography” refers to the way we live in different places—and how that changes us—which is what Aija Lulle explores in her work. “I’ve done extensive research on children and families in movement across borders—that is, mobility—and I continue to study aging, specifically how changing one’s place of residence changes one’s life. That’s how I arrived at the topic of midlife geography. My core research has been tied to migration. I’ve known and respected the people I’ve studied for nearly 20 years—and I’ve seen them age before my eyes. And it was through them that I noticed there are practically no scientific tools to explain actions taken in midlife, how people inhabit space and time during this phase. In human geography, it’s essential to view space and time together.

And the way people with small children use space and time is very different from how it’s used by people in midlife,” professor says.

She notes that we often hear there are not enough spaces where a person can feel free—take, for example, a woman in her 40s or 50s or 60s—there’s hardly a place she can go to enjoy life in the way she wants to, in a way that makes her feel most at ease. “Returning to migration studies—during my work, I noticed that people who left Latvia right after the EU enlargement (and it wasn’t just young people, many were middle-aged), were practically left out of integration or migration theories and practices. These were not designed with this life stage in mind. But middle-aged people inhabit space differently, they use time differently, they learn the language differently, etc.,” says the book’s author.

She’s interested in looking deeper into what happens during midlife—instead of ignoring this phase.

“My interest started when Latvians I had known for years, who had emigrated to the UK, began to mention the word ‘menopause’ freely in interviews—not just women, but also men. I began to investigate why in some countries people talk about it and in others they don’t, why some social classes talk about it and others don’t. Menopause can be a very different experience for each woman, but there’s a common narrative—not to talk about it, because, well, it’s not that bad, there are harder things! And I can’t agree with that, because diversity is richness.

The more we understand that the person next to us might feel things differently, the richer we all become,” says Aija Lulle.

But what exactly has changed in midlife today? “People have always had caregiving responsibilities in midlife—for both children and aging parents. But what’s different now, both in Latvia and Europe, is the unprecedented scale of aging. The world has never been this old. Life expectancy is increasing (though there is an alarming trend in the U.S., where life expectancy is falling due to unequal healthcare access), children are being born later, and people are living longer,” explains the sociologist.

“One critical factor is that every life stage can be difficult because of self-imposed or culturally imposed pressures—the belief that we must be capable of everything. Midlife in Latvia and the post-Soviet space is especially complex: some people completed their education during the Soviet era, while others are now starting entirely new careers. Inequality is emerging, and midlife becomes a focal point for social stress, a reference moment across many areas of life.”

She also refers to data showing that, inevitably, midlife health in Latvia is very poor: “After age 50, the number of healthy years drops off quickly; many people face chronic illness. Encounters with illness are a very serious issue. All of these factors converge—you might still have young children or teenagers, elderly parents to care for—and neoliberal ideology demands that we do it all. At the same time, social support systems are full of holes, and it can all become too much,” notes Aija Lulle.

As a researcher, of course, she wants to help. So she reminds us: “It’s okay not to manage everything. It’s okay not to overwork. It’s okay not to get up at six in the morning if you don’t have to—and it doesn’t bring you joy. What I’m trying to untangle—and what I think could make life easier for many—is how uncritically we’ve accepted this neoliberal ideology: ‘I must be able to do it all. I run even though I hate it. I work three jobs… I can only deserve something in life if I’ve exhausted myself.’ I want to unpack how much this depletes and wears us down,” she says.

Full radio episode (in Latvian)