I think the stage of life one is in makes more of a difference than the age of ones life. For instance a 60 yr old male may well be interested in wooing a 45 yr old female but the goals and dreams could be drastically out of kilter. He is looking at retirement, she has just established herself in a demanding career, hows that gonna work, him looking at RV's, her working overtime to meet a deadline. Its all relative to which direction life is headed and to what stage one is in.

Recently read a dating profile by a 40 yr old female that stated, "I have no desire to date any man 10 yrs or older than myself, as they are so set in there ways" LOL
Set in their ways, could be a good thing, easier to pattern, easier to adapt to, LOL not like chasing the wind.
7 yrs either direction +or - 3 would be my choice depending on the person ,goals, expectations etc.

LiannaMe, yeah I hate that attitude too. My guess is that those younger women are insecure and jealous of those older women. I see the same attitude in lots of older women too. Often times you will hear them demeaning men their age who date or show interest in younger women. You can tell from what they say that the real issue is jealousy.

True that, tossed. I've found ladies older than me to be deeply in a comfort zone, very critical about what they want and don't want in life. While I can understand that, there's got to be SOME room for improvement, learning, exploration...

And I've found younger ladies to be scatter-brained and have NO IDEA what they want, which leaves it to me to show it to them.

And I've met young women who are already old ladies in young bodies.

And I've met A FEW older ladies who are still energetic spirits!

I'm somewhere in the middle...have defined some things in life, some things that I will and will not accept, some boundaries, yet I get bored, so I'm always looking to learn something new. I'm always excited by the latest, greatest trends in technology and in popular culture, yet, being experienced as I am, can kind of place bets on which songs or movies will become "classics" and which are merely flavor-of-the-month fads which will be forgotten tomorrow.

Politics, if we want to go there in a conversation, it seems, will never change, as long as the U.S. has a two-party system. While I kind of find this turbulent world we live in it fascinating (there's always some new scandal, which is probably a smoke-screen for a bigger, deeper transgression), I wish things in Washington and on Wall Street would calm down a bit and we'd see another economic boom. And I'd like the world to enjoy SOME peace, even if it's only transitory.

Money? Me, economically, I've accepted the fact that it seems I'm going to have to work 'til I drop over dead, unless I win the lottery, so I might as well find someplace, and some type of work that I truly love, so working is as natural as breathing. Any woman is going to have to understand that finances don't permit me to be impulsive and jet over to Europe on a moment's notice using a credit card to pay for it, but, if she wants to enjoy a day at the local beach, great! That I can do! I can make a king's and queen's ransom out of a stretch of sand and a picnic basket or a cooler!

I ve been with people much younger than I am and much older than I am and right now I prefer to be with someone of my own age group.

I think our own defined age rules make more of a guideline than a hard rule. I have met women older than me who are immature and women younger than me that are wiser. If you take an "average", if you can do that, most will fall within some comfortable boundary. But if you are looking for true happiness I don't think you shouldn't give someone outside of those boundaries a chance, if they fit other "real" criteria well.

for me only, i have nothing in common with someone 10+ yrs older than me. when i was single, i was on dating sites and had users over 10+ yrs contacting me which i dont know why. i explained i have nothing in common with them that pissed them off.

they told me how they liked my profile that i spoke older than my age back then i wanted to say if u knew the bs i went through u would know why! when i was in hs, i was meeting guys 8 yrs older than me in their 20s.

my bf is 6 yrs older than me and 6 yrs is the limit for me. in the past, the users said how i "didnt have an open mind towards age," they got some nerve to talk since i was younger than them they didnt have an open mind to age either that came out of their mouths later on plus a younger chick is a good fuck for them found that out too.

if i was single again, would i date someone much older than me? probably not i have no interest in being their babysitter or coming home just cuz they hate to stay out late been there before when i was 18 and the guy was 25 claiming he was "too old" and wanting to "settle."

i told them b4 i dont care how wonderful u r, how great of a person u r, etc it will not change my mind about me wanting to go out with u that made them mad as a bull! if u were 37, i definitely wouldnt go out with a 37 yr old dont care how well off he/she is. i would rather stay single than to date/go out with someone over 10 yrs older than me.

the love of my life is 24 years older then me. We both learn from eachother. I think age matters to some people and to others it doesn't. If your Mrs.Right comes along and she's much younger or much older I don't think age will matter to you. Love is blind and funny like that.

I think age is not the most important part of a relationship but it does matter. Among adults it doesn't matter so much but it still plays a role in how well you understand the other person. People of different ages think about different things and their intellect is in different levels.When it comes to healthy relationships I believe people should be confident in their age no matter what it is. They should operate to their full potential at all times and expect the same from others.

that is true. for me, i feel embarrassed if i was dating someone 15 yrs older than me. i can see the comments from other ppl do i have daddy/mommy issues? all sorts of off the wall questions about why i'm dating someone who's 15 yrs older.

my ex friend told me in 05 that ur bf is 6 yrs older she treated it as if he is 16 yrs older!!! i said he is 6 yrs older not 16 big difference lol

I think once you get into those ages , age really doesnt matter as much. Maturity at that point is individual.

Personally, I don't think it matters too much when you're older, but definitely 20somethings are a different breed altogether. I think once you hit about 35, your progression is more stable in life and you know who you are and what your values are.

The biggest age difference I've had is 9 years, but I was 19 and he was 28 and it was a problem because those ages are so different.

I think that the stage you are at in your life is as important as actual age.

I'm mid 50's looking to catch with up the fun and living I put off by marrying and having children very young. I've been with my partner for 3 years, he's mid 60's and has travelled the world and had all his fun already as he never had children

That's a bigger issue than the 9 year age gap

Zsa, the problem was you and him, not the age gap itself. A person's age doesn't determine who they are. Society says a 28 year old should be different from a 19 year old, but why? Honestly I lvoe everything about being young and in certain aspects I plan in staying like this forever. People need to stop being so fucking intolerant. Get over yourselves.

One of my friends is almost 28 and some of the friends he hangs out with are 19-20. He has no problem relating to them, and if I was an outside observer I don't even think I'd be able to tell that there is an age gap since the 28 year old looks like he could be 20. This idea of there being natural differences between people at those ages is just a social construct. People just act different sometimes because society pressures them to do so. But if a person doesn't act based on society's expectations, the only way you'd be able to tell the person is older is if they look older. .

The thing that makes people different is life experience, not age. As people get older, they will often get married and get into a career. Yes, these things make them different from a 19 year old who is still in college, but only in the same way that a 45 year old who is a senator or a CEO is different from a normal 45 year old. Does that mean senators and CEOs shouldn't date normal people? By 18 everyone is an adult and they can make their own decisions. Stop trying to find loopholes around this.