Does dating get harder as you get older?

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I don't have any life experience

Me neither

But you both do have life experience.

Stuff has happened to you, and you both adjusted to it.

If you've experienced the American sort of University campus with its dorm life, it is very easy to at least meet single people your own age. When you leave, it usually gets a lot harder. Even in a more traditional European-type university setting where most students probably live with their parents, it's probably still fairly easy to meet people.

But once you leave and (hopefully) enter the "working world", it usually gets a lot harder. That typically happens early-to-mid twenties. I certainly experienced that.

However, as time went on, into my early 30s, I found that dating gradually became easier for a number of reasons.

1.) I developed a better sense of which girls might be interested. Having had some successes, I gained a better ability to predict when a girl might be "interested" (i.e. sexually).
2.) In the mid-twenties, all the decent ones seem to be taken. But getting into the late twenties and early thirties, there were more divorcees, some quite horny and free of their youthful bashfulness concerning sex.
3.) I was ready for marriage. With my first girlfriend (at age 20) I was simply not ready to think about that. But by the time I met my wife, I was ready and willing once the right person happened by. So not inhibited by fear of commitment.
4.) I learned that a girl didn't have to have such a great body to be a great sex partner. So I had the possibility of finding a younger girlfriend who might not be considered "hot" by guys her own age, but to whom I might be attracted, due to her youth and eagerness.
5.) In my case, I started working out around age 29. This made a huge difference - I never became "ripped" but women are more attracted to guys who are in shape, even if not aware themselves. Even girls in active relationships came on to me in a different way. Of course you don't need to wait until you are 29 to act on this advice.

Today I met a charming young couple. They're engaged. The man was named Simon. He was charming, handsome, charismatic. He said his age is 25. The girl seemed to about the same age. Very pretty too. They looked so happy. They had such youthful vitality.

I might meet someone when I'm 35. She might be 35 or perhaps she'll be a couple of years older than me. I don't think I'd bother. I think of couples who meet when they're older as kind of sad. I'd rather be single than be like that.

I missed out on my chance to be one half of a vicenarian couple. To be that happy. To have that youthful vitality. I asked out an 18 year old in hopes that I could turn back the clock. Our average age was 24.

It didn't work. I don't want to take the dregs. I don't want to take the girls left over after the Simons of the world have taken all the pretty ones.

Most of all I don't want to settle. I'd rather be single than settle. Better to live single than to live a lifetime thinking I could have done better.

It might be better to meet someone in your/their 30s. What Max pointed out makes sense.

The sex will certainly be better. And you'll enrich and amuse each other with funny stories of the foibles of your teens and 20s.

I really didn't "arrive in the world" until my 30s. I was an overgrown child when I was in my 20s.

Yep, I've noticed this same thing. The amount of available people decreases more and more as you get older. By the time you get to your 30's it is not only the quantity but the quality that can become a problem too. People can have a lot of baggage from their past that might not make them desirable when it comes to dating. I know I have mine too, we all do. Even if you haven't dated much, that is a huge red flag in itself. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure a lot of these people are good for the right person, but it is like looking for a needle in a haystack to find the one that fits well with you and where you are at that point in your life, when you are younger that can be a lot easier to do because the availability is much higher. I dread the day when I hit my 40's and might have to settle for a lot less than I had hoped for, and no I don't mean a persons physical appearance, I am not real picky about that. I am a person that doesn't mind dating single moms, I actually enjoy it, it can be a very rewarding experience. At the same time though, it can be very difficult to find ones that still have the same interests as me. Is it too much to ask for a cool single mom that still likes to play video games? One thing I've learned though, is that it all comes down to timing, maybe the right person for you isn't single at the current time but they may become single in the future. You just gotta find the right person at the right time, thats the tricky part.

So, if you see 18 as the appropriate age for girls to start dating and 29 as the typical age they're all taken by.. and the 18yo's aren't interest in you for being too old for them, then make it your aim to date someone in between that range. There are plenty of 23yo's out there.. 25yo's, 26yo's, 28yo's etc. Just because you have difficulty attracting an 18yo for being too old or a "good" 29yo because they're all taken OR you can't quite relate to them because your social maturity is younger doesn't mean there aren't any dateable females in the age range in between!

Also, your potential dating pool is far greater than the people you work with. The internet/dating apps open up virtually every potential partner in your geographical area. A car, bus or train pass even, makes this pool even larger.

Are there any organizations that help developmentally disabled adults in your area. Perhaps you could volunteer to help out and meet potential matches with more similar perspectives in life.

But will you ever be 100% sure that she is the best one? How many GFs you need to decide?

It is impossible to ever know she is the best one but it is possible to know she's good enough.

Even if I only dated one girl it would still be possible to know with certainty that she's good enough.

This is a valid point. Good enough means not entertaining second thoughts after making the commitment. When my wife and I decided to get married, I could have named a great many things about her that could have been improved, but I was simply ready. But it took me many years to get to that point. I am glad I didn't get married sooner because I don't think any marriage with any of my earlier partners would have lasted.

OTOH you can always date someone who is not good enough for the experience (as it is good to experience different women just because they are so different). Just try to be honest about your level of commitment. Sometimes the females aren't as committed as they claim to be. I can recall a couple who seemed to feel you are automatically committed to anybody you'd had sex with, even if you could otherwise barely stand them.