Poll: How much older is too old?

[Goofguy]

Before delving in to the crux of this thread, I'll provide some quick background.

A Canadian senator's wife was detained recently for causing a disturbance and uttering threats on a flight. She has since been cleared of the charges and yet her and her husband are still making Canadian news. Why? Because she is 23 and he is 69 [http://www.thestarphoenix.com/7141596.bin]. Here's a link [http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatchewan/story/2012/08/28/sk-maygan-sensenberger-in-court-1208.html] if you are interested in reading more about it.

Far be it from me to judge the realities of their marriage, I'm more curious as to how many people would pursue a relationship with someone that much older than themselves.

So my fellow Escapists, how much older is too old for you when looking for a significant other? Do you even care about the age difference? For those of you already in committed relationships, pretend you are single for the sake of this discussion.


EDIT: The captcha ate the 7th poll option, it should say "I don't care about the age difference, only our compatibility".

 

[sextus the crazy]

Personally, I prefer them to be around my age. Although, I don't mind if someone else has a giant age gap. If they genuinely love each other than it's fine by me.

 

[Revnak_v1legacy]

Once you're old enough to be their parent you are simply too old for them.

 

[konor77]

A rule i heard is to have half your age plus seven as your minimum age and it seems like a pretty safe rule.

 

[Cabisco]

I think it depends on their respective ages for example, 29 and 23 ain't so bad, but a 19 and 13 year old got serious problems...

The acceptable age difference becomes longer the older you are, for younger people a year or two i'd say.

 

[Zantos]

A rule i heard is to have half your age plus seven as your minimum age and it seems like a pretty safe rule.

This is the word of the lord, blessed be MusclesGlasses.

Yeah, pretty much this, if you don't fall within their half your age plus seven then you're too young.

 

[Broady Brio]

I go by the half your age + 7 rule.
I used to feel I would not date anyone more than a year younger of older than me, I then realised that was pretty high thinking of me, so I dropped that ignorant attitude.
Though there is a girl I know. She is 19. She's currently dating a 25 year old. While that falls under said rule, I still think the gap is too big.

 

[Imprimatur]

No more than a 8 year age difference.

 

[hazabaza1]

Once you get 18 then I'd say whatever. It may seem weird for an 18 year old to be banging a 60 year old but if that's your fancy, then go ahead.
Anything before 18 and I'd use the half your age+7 thing.

 

[Mr. GameBrain]

Hmm.. As a 21 year old guy, I'd say between 18-28, depending on a lot of factors, though preferable the age range would be say 20-25.
(I'm pretty "generation"-less so I think I'd get on with older women well, (since I have a decent knowledge of 80s stuff as well)).

Though to be honest, I don't think I'm quite ready for a relationship, (I guess I don't want to seriously persue one unless I have something substantial to offer them. I want to be interesting to them, fun, secure. At the moment, I'm kind of stuck at a crossroad so I don't want to drag anyone down with me really,(Its why the day after I joined a dating site and read some of the profiles, I closed the account. Maybe I guess I knew too much, didn't feel deserving enough maybe?), plus I'm a really unusual sort of person, definately not the average 21 year old.

So ask me in say 3 or 4 years time, I bet by then age would be a lot less relevant, and maturity and less superficial factors would be the focus.

(Imagine the age gap like a open gate. The older you get, the wider the gap in the gate gets, but to a point, because its still a damn gate in the end of the day! XD)

 

[DugMachine]

Personally I like someone younger than me by like a year or two. Dated a girl 3 years older than me once and even that's fine. 10 years is pushing it at least for me.

 

[Dragonclaw]

I've always stuck with the half your age plus seven rule. Seems to have worked out well.

 

[krazykidd]

I will sleep with any woman that is younger than my mother (55). I willl only date a woman that is over 30 ( i'm 23 ). My current girlfriend is 31 , thats 8 years difference . There is no such thing as too old , age is but a number, the important thing is the connection between the two . I'm not OPPOSED to dating someone my age , it's just that i personally find it harder to have a connection with a 20 year old ( i find women in their 20's quite boring and lacking in life experiences ). It will take a lot for a 20 year old woman to impress me .

 

[Phasmal]

Boyfriend is only a month older than me, but I am a bit picky about age.
It's not the first thing I consider, so if I did meet a guy who was a lot older I dunno if I'd not date him just for that, but I voted 0-5 years.
Just my personal choice.
Also, I'm not a huge fan of dating younger guys, mostly because at the age I'm at (22), most guys who are younger tend to want to do the whole drinking, partying thing. It's not exactly about age, more about maturity, but that tends to come more with age.

 

[micahrp]

The 10th President (John Tyler - 1841) of the US has two living grandsons. He had children when he was in his 60s and his son had sons in his 70s. Both grandsons are in their 80s.

Seems like nature says age isn't the problem, so I would hazard it's wierd human minds saying that it is a problem.

 

[mrdude2010]

It depends on the age of the people involved. I think the general rule is "half your age+7" is the acceptable lower limit, since once both of you are over 23ish you're both about as physically mature as you're going to be (that's around when your brain stops developing at least, your body is probably done before then- that's why it's weird when a 19 year old and a 25 year old are together, because the 19 year old is still mentally a child compared to the 25 year old).

 

[manic_depressive13]

I think the half plus seven rule holds up to a certain point, but when the age gap is more than 15-20 years I tend to find it a bit disturbing. I don't think it's a huge deal but nor is it my cup of tea. I personally would never date anyone more than five years older than me at most, and no more than a year or two younger than me.

 

[Tumedus]

Its not so much the gap but the bracket. 12 and under is off limits. Then it gets divided into 13-15, 16-18, 19-21, then the brackets get a little more malleable but generally young, adult, middle aged, senior. In the well defined brackets it is generally a bad idea to date outside the bracket unless the gap is very very small. In the upper, less defined brackets, it is generally okay to date within one of the adjacent brackets.

Worth noting, I suppose, that the half +7 rule actually hits that pretty well.

Edit: These brackets are from a North American perspective. They are representative, not just of emotional and physical maturity, but of periods in a person's life. For example, a 22year old and a 19 year old may not be, from a maturity perspective, very far away from each other, but the inability to get into a bar on the part of the 19 yr old (in the US) can have a serious impact on a relationship.