Dating someone older than you can teach you a lot about life. It can help you better understand what it’s like to be a certain age, gain perspective on the current phase you’re in, or realize that you actually don’t like a large age gap when it comes to relationships. There’s a lot to consider about dating someone who’s older than you are, because your relationship may need some added communication to bridge the age gap. In case you were curious, here are six different perspectives from people who have experienced dating someone older.<\/p>\n
Mull over these questions and use them to spark thoughtful discussions with your partner to help determine if your relationship can survive the discrepancies between your bank accounts. An age difference can mean you don’t always like\u2014or know about\u2014the same TV shows, movies, and books. This article was co-authored by Erika Kaplan and by wikiHow staff writer, Hannah Madden. Erika Kaplan is a Dating Coach and Matchmaker for Three Day Rule, an exclusive matchmaking company across nine cities in the United States. With over six years of experience, Erika specializes in helping singles find quality matches through date coaching and premium matchmaking services. Erika graduated from Penn State with a Bachelor\u2019s degree in Public Relations.<\/p>\n
Yet dating a younger woman will make you face challenges; it\u2019s never too late to open yourself to the world and go out of your comfort zone. If still, for some physical reasons you feel unwilling to take part in what she offers, you\u2019d better explain that politely. Given the Bible\u2019s silence on the issue, we can say that, in the end, age differences in relationships are not a major concern to God. Age can be important in a marriage, of course, but it is far less important than other issues such as salvation, spiritual maturity, compatibility, etc. As people get older, age differences mean less and less. Obviously, a 40-year-old marrying an 18-year-old will raise some eyebrows, but no one thinks twice about an 82-year-old marrying a 60-year-old.<\/p>\n
Most males get turned on when they realize they\u2019re a dominant and more experienced partner. Romantic couples with a large age gap often raise eyebrows. Studies have found partners with more than a 10-year gap in age experience social disapproval. But when it comes to our own relationships, both men and women prefer someone their own age, but are open to someone years their junior or senior. Mark, 57, met Sarah, 45, at a conference when he was 33 and she was 22, and they hit it off immediately in spite of an 11-year age difference. At the time, they were living on opposite coasts, so they did long-distance for several years before deciding to get married.<\/p>\n
It basically is the opposite of being broke, which is a libido-killer for most women. An older man is past the early-20s \u201cwhat am I doing with my life\u201d phase. There\u2019s a good chance he\u2019s midway in his career, and therefore at least somewhat financially stable. You\u2019ve dated your share of men your age\u2026and even younger. Clearly, you haven\u2019t found what you\u2019re looking for yet, so why not go with someone older and more wiser? While all of these won\u2019t be true of every older man , as a whole, you\u2019re going to realize more of these benefits with an older man.<\/p>\n
A couple with a significant age difference sees the world from different angles, and their perception of the same things is contrasting. We won\u2019t prevaricate; solid difference in the worldview can be damaging and destroying for any marriage. However, dating someone much younger is about mutual learning. When mature men let their women show the way they see this world, the dating process gets more balanced and promising. It’s pretty common to date someone who’s a few years younger or older than you, and often the age difference is no big deal.<\/p>\n
We developed feelings for each other and we told each other that we liked each other about a month ago. I knew how old she was when we met and she knew my age too. I keep seeing a lot of stuff online saying that it’s weird to be dating someone who’s more than 2 years older when you’re still in your early 20s. I don’t know if it’s the right subreddit to post this. “The more a couple has in common, the greater the likelihood they’ll last,” she said.<\/p>\n
An older man who’s worthy of your time knows what he wants in a relationship.<\/p>\n
Older men generally know where they are in life and what they want, so it\u2019s best to talk about these things early in the relationship. If he wants to settle down but you don\u2019t, you may be better off going your separate ways. Or, if he just wants a casual fling and you\u2019re looking for something serious, it might not be a great match. Your guy will probably have his own life, and you should, too. Since you two aren\u2019t the same age, you might be more interested in going out with friends, while he might prefer staying at home. Be sure to go out and do the things that you want to do, and don\u2019t hold yourself back for your relationship.<\/p>\n
You may have a meeting of the minds with this man, but are you physically attracted to him as well? You want a man you can learn from, regardless of his age. Just make sure he\u2019s not taking on the role of your teacher without you wanting him to be.<\/p>\n
The difference is when you’re in your late 20’s or over 30, because your adult brain is “settled in”, so to speak. There’s a certain amount of life experience there which most people have in common. People inbetween their 20’s usually understand each other pretty well, especially between 21-26, because it’s such a specific age to be in, such as figuring out what ‘adult’ means and who you are, etc. No matter the roles we play, and the hats we wear, we are all social animals. The main reason, based on my clinical experiences, is the reason adult dating is stressful is that you are meeting the person, and the person\u2019s entire social history and memories. Wishful and magical thinking create the need to meet an emotional virgin, which does not exist, unless the date is beamed here frozen, in hibernation from age 10, or younger, from another planet.<\/p>\n