Age and Dating: Does It Really Matter?

I tend to like older guys, maturity is key here. I wouldn't mind being with someone younger then me but it all depends on their personality as I am the type of person that has never fit in well with people my own age oddly enough. On the other hand I don't want the age gap to be too wide either..10 years is the cut off for me. I find that anything over that and it just gets harder to find stuff in common but hey..there are expectations to every rule.

 

I usually dated people around my age. Most of the people I dated were plus or minus 5 years of my age. There have been a couple of exceptions when I was 25 I dated a guy who was 38 at the time and when I was 26 I dated a guy who was 47. I learned a lot from them since they were in a different phase of life than me. But other than that I stay close to my age because I think it helps for both parties to be at a similar place in life.

 

I'm 33 and I'm attempting to date a guy that's 48.....

 

Age does matter. I don't think 23-26 is that big of an age difference though. I was 18 and dated a 25 year old. At the time, I thought it was fine. Looking back, there's no reason I should have been dating a dude that age. Completely different mindsets. I'm 24. The youngest I'd date is maybe 21. The oldest is probably 28-29.

 

I definitely think age matters. I once dated someone outside my age range and no matter how mature I felt I was or how they thought I was, I feel there was a disconnect on certain things. Because while maybe unlike most 22 year olds I may not to go the club or whatever, I'm still having 22 year old experiences. As crazy as this sounds I wouldn't date an 18 year old. Because in my mind they're fresh out of high school.

Whereas someone 21-26 usually tends to have a more secure concept of where they think they want to go in life. Although my preference would be 24-26, because they're usually more secure in who they are as a person, as I find most people my age don't want stability and security just yet with relationships which is what I want. However I never rule them out because I know I'm not the only 22 year old who desires more. But I also think because I came out eight years ago, once again I feel I became more established in my identity years ago where most of them are just now figuring that out.

 

I think its different at the closer to 35 than 30 point. 25 gets a lot of life passes, 35 doesnt. 25 yr olds need to have that space w other peers to be flip floppy, inconsistent, and unsure of what they want.

At 33, I could potentially myself comfortable dating a certain kind of 48 year old, but a 28 year old, while I wouldnt immediately shut him down, I would def have my guard up, by default.

I think its simply based on experiences w guys that age, when i was that age. I simply expect more out of men of a certain ages. I know that its no guarantee (trust me, I know) but I expect better odds.

 

Well African King as you can see I am just a bit older than you. lol ! I have re-entered the dating field for the second time in 2 yrs. I was in a relationship and lived under the same roof and raised a child with my man for 31yrs. We parted by death and I went into seclusion and parenting for 10yrs and came back to dating in 2014. The guy was 42 and a father too so I thought we were going places as we entered Relationship and I gave him a Commitment Ring and we were to be engaged in Dec2015 and married in May 2016. Then I noticed he stopped saying he was IN Love with me but "loved me". I asked him after awhile was he sure he wanted to spend the rest of My life with me? He then became distance and in Nov he did not call or text on my birthday and finally I got my ring back. To say all that to say this age can make a difference if the person is insecure in themselves and not ready to go all in. But the difference of which you speak is not the case . It is more that the human brain does not mature until about 25yrs. My first guy and I met at me 29 and he 24 but we meant til death do we part. It was us against the world and we communicated in all ways. I'll date another guy 10,20 maybe 30 years younger if we love each other and become IN Love with each other I'd marry him. Don't let age be a barrier to love and don't mistake lust for love. Above all communicate all feelings and talk it out, set life goals and work towards them. Good loving(luck too).

 

Although l prefer to date around the same age, I've always liked dating older. I'm 26 also and the youngest l'll go is between 24-25 no younger than that.

 

Typically, I date men within 5 years of my age. Recently, I began to date someone 13 years younger than me. In this experience, its been a constant challenge: life perspective, expectations, etc. Oddly enough, I've actually learned some things ("set in your ways" IS a real thing). Going forward, I am inclined to go back to my +5 "rule". HOWEVER, I do think it IS possible to have a successful romance with an age gap.

 

I am 26 and my boyfriend just turned 23, we are doing just fine.

 

For the life of me, I can't figure out exactly why I don't find guys younger than me attractive; even if it's only just a year. I don't know, I think with my culture, we tend to infantilise someone that is younger than us and I just believe that I'd have this incessant need to take care of him.

....I'm usually always attracted to guys older than me, but I tend to be careful with the age gap between us. For example, I was recently dating a guy who was 18 years older than me. And coming to think of it, when I take that age gap and analyze it, it's exactly 75% of the time that I have been alive....That's a pretty huge part of my life.