Better with Age?

With life-expectancy stretching out most of us can feel good about pushing back on mid-life. Advances in medicine and science mean that proportionally, the springs and summers of our lives can last a whole lot longer. It’s not all good news though. Longer life means more time to accomplish those celebrated life milestones like marriage, landing the dream job, having children, and travelling the world, but there are those who see this as a chance to procrastinate, and most studies suggest those people are twenty-something men. In the 1960’s it was common for men to have accomplished many of their long-term life goals by age 30, whilst today less than a third of twenty-something males can say as much. Resembling the Lost Boys of Neverland, today’s young men frolic fancy-free from pub to club singing that they won’t ever have to grow up.

Women, on the other hand, are often doing just the opposite. As the playing field finally levels in favour of equality, most women can’t wait to get out and conquer the world. They grow up quick because they are driven and excited to take control of their own lives.

So what happens to twenty-something relationships? Or thirty-something relationships for that matter? If one partner wants to settle down and the other is ready for everything-but, what are the chances for healthy harmony? It should be noted that the tables are sometimes turned, with the woman wanting to live it up and the man wanting to get serious. Whatever the situation, these kinds of relationships are fated to fail. Yet, for whatever reason, innumerable men and women still say that age is one of the factors they weigh most when seeking a partner.

Older men tend to have more direction, more stability, and more sense of self. For every twenty-something man raring to talk about booze and women there is a forty-something man who will show genuine interest in the arts, the world, and the people he is with. True adults communicate more clearly because they don’t tend to worry so much about being impressive (or being exposed as otherwise). As far as older women are concerned, they offer the same kind of mature confidence and are often significantly more passionate than girls half their age.

Getting over personal prejudices about age might open the door to lasting love, or at least stimulating conversation. Why not leave Peter Pan to fairy tales and open your mind to a real Happily Ever After?

Happy Dating!