Age gap relationships
nick007
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Edited cause I screwed up the math and he called me on it lol.
It made me feel smart but it was mostly because I wanted to be sure I had my math rite.
Anyways...
I'm very unique & I don't really feel I fit-in with most groups of people & I never did. In some ways I get along better with older people because I'm not into things that people my age tend to be into like partying. Older people tend to have more traditional values & we can have long conversations about how society is going downhill. In other ways thou I tend to get along better with younger people because I have some very immature interest. People my age are hard for me to relate to because they are into things I'm not & they are also a further stage ahead of me in life. My ex girlfriend was about 4 & a half years younger than me when I was 20(it was a mostly net thing) & we really connected in some ways; we liked the same TV shows, had the same sense of humor ect. I felt like a parent with her at times thou because she had some emotional & mental stuff that I was helping her deal with & she was doing some things that were risky/dangerous & it caused me worry about her. When looking for a relationship sense I was looking for someone younger because I felt they would be more compatible with me. I'm immature in some ways, I'm at a lower stage in my life. I'm very supportive & can help with the emotional/mental things younger people tend to have. I felt like someone my age or older would be very critical of me for not being on their level & like they would be a parent with me. I would of rathered feel like a parent than feel like a kid to my partner because feeling kinda like a dad with my ex encouraged me to grow up some in order to help her & I felt like I wouldn't be able to grow having someone mothering me. The weird thing about Megz is that she is very mature, responsible & independent compared to others around her age & more so than me but it does not feel like she's a mom to me or like I'm a dad with her. It feels like me & her are on the same level but in different ways that really balance out & compliment each other. I do not think of her as being 19 & I don't think of her as my age of 28 either; I think of her as the person who completes me
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I've can definitely say that Ive dated both older and younger. I've had 2 serious relationships...the first was 16 years older, and the second was three years younger, but he was really immature and acted like a teenager.
I can relate well intellectually to older men, but it just gets hard because I find 99.9% of them unattractive. I much prefer boyish 18-20 year olds for some reason...and older women. My best friend, who was my lover for a few years (before she found a stinkin' boyfriend!), is 12 years older than me, and a total babe.
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Given a “tentative” diagnosis as a child as I needed services at school for what was later correctly discovered to be a major anxiety disorder.
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I think it all depends on the individuals concerned.
I've known men 10 years older than me who were far more immature than men 10 years younger than me.
I suppose it's more likely that people within a few years of each other will be more compatible, but it's not always the case. And as you get older, I think age matters less in a relationship.
Age is a state of mind as much as a biological thing. There are people my age ( 38 ) who seem to still be in their 20s, and others who look ready to retire. They've mentally aged before their time.
Last edited by Henbane on 08 Sep 2011, 5:05 am, edited 1 time in total.
I win, greatest age gap in a relationship was 19.75 years. It didn't work out. I was 23 and he was 42. I actually didn't feel like the age gap was that much of a big deal to be honest, but he decided that I needed someone my own age and ended things. We had alot in common and still keep in touch.
Although, years later now that I'm 36 and he's 55, I'm still youngish and he's heading for retirement I think he did the right thing... if only he'd been younger.
I always used to like older men, but now that I'm getting older I find guys my own age more attractive.
I think that the reason I was attracted to older men was that they didn't know that I wasn't cool. They saw me for who I am and didn't think I was weird because I didn't like the latest music or care about the latest fashions. We were on the same level that way.
Ilka
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My Aspie husband is only 3 years older than me, and the friends he has are around his same age. He does not get along very well with younger or older people. My Aspie daughter def gets along better with younger people. She is only 11, but she is not into older people.
I do not think 10 or 15 years is a big difference (if no underage is involved), but I do think 50 years is a HUGE gap. Not even my mother is 50 years older than me. But then again if they are both happy (which I do not think is the case because of the beating), then its Ok. The problem is usually that happiness is pretty ephemeral. It cannot be otherwise if you are dating a person that is reaching the life expectancy (80 years for women).
I think that the reason I was attracted to older men was that they didn't know that I wasn't cool. They saw me for who I am and didn't think I was weird because I didn't like the latest music or care about the latest fashions. We were on the same level that way.
Nope, I win LOL My b/f is 24 years older than me LOL. He's 54, will be 55 in December. I just turned 30 in June.
On that note, we've been together almost three years now, and though most of the time it's not an issue, when we do get in arguments, it tends to turn into a pretty condescending lecture on his part, where I get told that since he raised kids and was married for 27 years that he knows much more than me about life and relationships. I do respect some of his knowledge, but refuse to believe he knows more, he just knows different experiences. I was married four years and my ex was an abusive piece of crap, and I learned my own lessons with that. It's not my damn fault my boyfriend couldn't figure out to make his marriage work after 27 years, right? LOL At least I cut my losses early

I suppose that for an age gap relationship to be able to come about, to be able to flourish, both parties would have to be in the habit of dating people outside their life stage in the first place, or get on best with people outside their life stage. Would that be right? Like I can't just go for an older woman just because she isn't my age, she'd have to be a bit unlike the crowd in that she'd also date a slightly different age stratum.
I'm going to say something really smooshy, but I think it has to do more with falling head over heels in love. Age doesn't matter when you love someone

I didn't purposely go out looking for an older guy, we just had alot in common and clicked. The warmth of his personality just drew me in. We enjoy talking to each other about everything. We both love music. We enjoy the countryside and dogs and art...
Hmmm, that little trip down memory lane makes me feel a little woeful.
i had just turned 17 wen i started dating my current girlfriend who was 14. yea ik it sounds f****d but she turned 15 a few months later. she was a freshmen and i was a junior. in my school those two grades r intermixed so it isnt looked down upon. im going to be 18 in 11 days at this point. shes still gonna b 15. luckily wen she turns 16 itll be legal. the age difference never affected our relationship in anyway at all.
ValentineWiggin
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I dated several older men (think 40's and early 50's) when I was 18-20,
and I swear, they stick out in my mind as being the closest to the kind of relationship I want.
Not once did I feel that I wasn't being listened to, or that I was primarily a breathing body with holes for a man's sexual amusement.
I've always been around older people, being an only child with no cousins, just parents and grandparents, until my brother was adopted when I was 12, and I always sat close to the teacher (now professors) in school because I respected their knowledge and, when I was younger, felt scared of the other kids.
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and I swear, they stick out in my mind as being the closest to the kind of relationship I want.
Not once did I feel that I wasn't being listened to, or that I was primarily a breathing body with holes for a man's sexual amusement.
I've always been around older people, being an only child with no cousins, just parents and grandparents, until my brother was adopted when I was 12, and I always sat close to the teacher (now professors) in school because I respected their knowledge and, when I was younger, felt scared of the other kids.

Just sayin'

Me, too. I once briefly dated a guy who was a few years younger than me and it was fun for a little while, but it wore me out and made me feel old. (I've heard people say dating someone younger makes them feel younger, but not me, lol). I also tend to crave stability in my life and many guys my age or younger are still getting settled into a career or going to school and not sure what direction they're heading yet, so that causes some friction.
I tend to prefer to date girls that are younger than me, mostly because girls my age tend to act their age and that doesn't work well with my man-child status. Plus most girls my age where I live have several children already and have been married at least once.
I think my low end age cap would probably be 21.
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nick007
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Joined: 4 May 2010
Gender: Male
Posts: 28,135
Location: was Louisiana but now Vermont in capitalistic military dictatorship called USA
Me, too. I once briefly dated a guy who was a few years younger than me and it was fun for a little while, but it wore me out and made me feel old. (I've heard people say dating someone younger makes them feel younger, but not me, lol). I also tend to crave stability in my life and many guys my age or younger are still getting settled into a career or going to school and not sure what direction they're heading yet, so that causes some friction.
I sometimes feel old when Megz talks about school stuff or college because I graduated high-school a little over 10 years ago & what she talks about is quite different than how it was when I was in school; & I also feel kind of old when she talks about issues with her parents but I sometimes talk to her about issues with my parents & then I feel kind of like I'm too old for being like that. However she also makes me feel alive; I'm not going to say she makes me feel young because she is very mature for her age & I feel like I may be more immature than she is. I also think things are a lot more stable with her but that & her maturity is probably related to things that have nothing to do with her being younger than me like maybe her AS. I'm not really concerned or really care that she's a lot younger than me because it doesn't really feel like it; things just feel rite to me & that's what matters
Same here
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