What's an appropriate age gap when dating in your twenties?

Question

Alright, well, here's my question. I would like to date someone who is turning 30 this September, while I myself won't be turning 25 until February. I'm just wondering if this is age appropriate.

(Oh, and for the record, I am smitten with this man.)

I realize, during adolescence dating someone 6 years older is generally frowned upon but what I want to know is, when exactly do "age gaps" start becoming irrelevant? Most would probably say "it depends on the people involved" but let's forget that for a moment because I'm genuinely interested in when people think that age becomes "no longer an issue". I'm looking for personal opinions and/or statistics.

Fire away folks.

Answer 1

Go for it. I dated a woman who was 32 when I was 22, one of the best relationships I've had.

Most of the complaints you'll here will be from 24 year old guys that want to date you or thirty year old guys jealous of this guy.

Answer 2

I am shocked by your question. You're well into adulthood.  You can date anyone you want.  I would think nothing of a six year age difference at your age.  I would say up to 39 would be totally no big deal.

Answer 3

If your smitten with this man, then I say go for it!

Answer 4

I don't think there's anything wrong with dating someone who is 6 years older or even more. Its weird if you're in high school but since you're in your twenties, its fine.

Answer 5

Age should not be an issue in this case.You should be mature enough to make a good assessment of this guy.

Does he work?have a car and a home of his own?If yes good so far.

Does he have past relationship baggage and responsibilities like kids with an ex or exs?

Does he have an addiction problem  or a criminal record?

If yes to those questions then best to move on.

Answer 6

So right now you are 24 and he is 29. That is not an age gap to worry about. I was 20 and married a 32 year old, which at the time was a horrendous age gap, resulting in our divorce 5 years later. Now, he is 53 and I'm 41. The age gap doesn't seem as large at those ages and we get along fine when we speak (we have a 20 year old son)

The older you get, the less the gap matters. 24/29 seems fine. to answer your question, though, my opinion is that when you get into your late 20's, people tend to regard you as mature enough to decide if dating an older man is suitable for yourself. It's not frowned upon near as much because they figure it's YOUR call and your life, not a couple of ages to frown upon at that point.

Hope I made sense. It's only my opinion. I don't have any stats.

Answer 7

Its not that big of a deal if you are gonna be 25.

30 these days it not as "settled" as it once was. I am 29 and I would date someone who is as old as late 30s.

I think thats a perfectly fine gap.

Now if you were 25 and the person were 40, that would be a little different.

Answer 8

That's perfectly acceptable! Go get him girl!

Answer 9

your both of age so it doent matter really

i know a couple where the ladie is 30 and the man 50

and by the way y does it matter because if the age gap is 6 years for teens wat is it for 20s 12 years   it really doesnt matter because you will both get older and by the sound of your explination if you get older than the gap gets bigger

if its wrong now then in lyk 5 years it will be fine

Answer 10

I have benn dating someone that is 11 yrs older than me. I'm 28 and he's 39. Its a great relationship. but it depends on the person individually

Answer 11

age gaps start to become irrelevant when you're in the working world. it's weird when you're still in school and your bf or gf is that much older than you in age and grade wise. but when you're working, everybody is in the same category as career stage in life, so i think it's perfectly fine to start dating someone with a bigger age gap in your twenties, because most likely in your twenties you'll be working by then. i don't think six years is too much for you two to handle. my bf is only 2 years older, back in high school it seemed like a big age gap, but right now (we're both out of college), it feels like nothing. so six years for you should be fine. =)

Answer 12

Edited:

If public opinion is a determining factor in whether or not you should persue somebody, then you shouldn't persue them, because obviously the attraction isn't strong enough for you to disregard public opinion.

Other than that, you only need to worry about what the law says. If both of you are in your twenties, living in a civilized country, and are otherwise capable of consent (not a vegetable or mentally handicapped), then you're fine.