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Mid 20's vs. Mid 30's

The biggest change that I've experienced (I'm 29) is that you stop being the youngest in a given group. At work, hobbies, your golf group, whatever. As soon as the group adds a new member straight out of college and they're 8-10 years younger than you, you go from feeling pretty good to feeling ancient.
 
Tarboro, that was me in grad school. I started straight out of college at 22. Most of the department was in their late 20s. Several had kids. We kept recruiting kids right out of college and all of a sudden I was the old guy at 27 in my last year. Moved to Tampa and I was still the old guy in most of my groups.
 
Also I've had an uptick in dental issues....from the very rare cavity now and then to two crowns in the last 12 months. Same good hygiene habits so wtf?
 
WFUWaldo said:
When you were 25 you had to walk to work. In the snow. Uphill. Both ways.
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when i was in elementary school I actually did walk uphill both ways. The school was a few blocks away but I had to walk down a big hill and up a bigger one on the school side.
 
Tarboro said:
The biggest change that I've experienced (I'm 29) is that you stop being the youngest in a given group. At work, hobbies, your golf group, whatever. As soon as the group adds a new member straight out of college and they're 8-10 years younger than you, you go from feeling pretty good to feeling ancient.
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Interesting point. The only time I feel like I'm old is when I'm hanging out with my pocket of friends that are all younger than me (i.e. my GF and all her friends). Even if its only by a year or two, it sucks being the oldest.
 
PhilliesDeacs said:
Interesting point. The only time I feel like I'm old is when I'm hanging out with my pocket of friends that are all younger than me (i.e. my GF and all her friends). Even if its only by a year or two, it sucks being the oldest.
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A friend of mine from work turned 24 on Saturday so we went to her party and went out with her young friends on Saturday night. We had fun (although 23-25 year-old dudes are super douchey and this is amplified if you're in your late thirties and out drinking with them... but I digress.)

Anyway, RDToy and I left for home just before the bars closed down. Had a great night, but Sunday was a disaster. I don't think we got out of bed until about 11 and all we did after that was sit quietly in the living room and watch football. Recovering is a major challenge these days...
 
Brangus said:
I'm 34. I was recently talking with my wife about how I feel differently than I did in my mid 20's (25) when we got married. I was curious if others have seen the same trends.

For example:
Im same age. Unmarried. No Kids

I love an after-lunch nap on the weekend now. 30-40 minutes. I NEVER napped in my twenties.
Didnt nap then or now.
Weight is easier to gain and much tougher to lose. Ten years ago I could go on a hard core three week diet and trim 10-12 pounds. Now, not so. Not even close.
Same. Weight much harder to lose with same amount of exercise. Although basically same weight since mid/late twenties. Sex drive is a little lower, but it was sky high 10 years ago so that's no big deal. (Insert "Low T" joke here).
Sex drive same or higher. Am much better at it now due to more experience

Stress level is naturally higher, with three dependents (two kids, wife).
Agree. Much higher. Own a house now. Job now is much more demanding
I have to wear glasses to drive at night. No other time.
Same. Also wear contacts to play golf

I don't have the same interest in travel that I used to, especially international travel. Just no interest. Maybe Yellowstone with the kids or something.
Still want to travel. More demanding job and less willingness to stay in crappy places makes it more difficult though

Oddly, I play far less golf than I used to, but that could be due to the expanded family and time. But I also don't feel the same level of interest. It got old to me, as did fishing.
Golf also sort of got old for me. Just lost interest. Still play, Just dont care about being good anymore

I can "veg out" on the couch now. I was too spun up to veg out 10 years ago.
I have always been an expert at this

I had to have a nice looking, new (late model) ride in my 20's. Now I don't care that much about what I drive so long as it's clean and runs.
Car now is nicer than mid twenties one

I used to be apathetic about about TV, other than sports. Now I watch sitcoms and reality TV and just bought a nice 46 inch LED Samsung to make sure I watch these shows in comfort. A TV would not have been a priority purchase 10 years ago.
Probably watch less TV due to more commitments. Have nicer TVs though
I handle stress at work and home far better than I used to. I can handle aggravating people better, too. I'm not in near as big a hurry, even though I'm older and have "less time" to advance my career. For some reason when I got out of law school I was in a big damn hurry to hit the home run. My impatience actually hurt me. Twentysomethings; your twenties and early thirties are for learning...don't worry (too much) about money and being the superstar during that time. Learn, then use the knowledge from that period to earn.

So the point of that wandering diatribe was a solicitation to others on the board...how do (or did) your mid thirties differ from your mid twenties?
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...
 
Brangus said:
I'm 34. I was recently talking with my wife about how I feel differently than I did in my mid 20's (25) when we got married. I was curious if others have seen the same trends.

For example:

I love an after-lunch nap on the weekend now. 30-40 minutes. I NEVER napped in my twenties.

I never napped then and still don't now.

Weight is easier to gain and much tougher to lose. Ten years ago I could go on a hard core three week diet and trim 10-12 pounds. Now, not so. Not even close.

I've always had problems losing weight, mostly due to very poor dietary habits. No amount of exercise could undo the craptastic food and beer I've ingested over the years. I've maintained at 235lbs for close to a decade now, so maybe I should be thankful it hasn't gotten worse.

Sex drive is a little lower, but it was sky high 10 years ago so that's no big deal. (Insert "Low T" joke here).

No change in sex drive.

Stress level is naturally higher, with three dependents (two kids, wife).

Mine is exponentially higher due to 3 kids.

I have to wear glasses to drive at night. No other time.

No change in vision at all.

I don't have the same interest in travel that I used to, especially international travel. Just no interest. Maybe Yellowstone with the kids or something.

I actually want to travel more so my kids can see the world the same way I did.

Oddly, I play far less golf than I used to, but that could be due to the expanded family and time. But I also don't feel the same level of interest. It got old to me, as did fishing.

I play the same amount of golf I used to, I just don't play as much tournament golf because breaking away for a weekend for a 2 or 3 day tournament is too difficult with kids. I still get in 3 or 4 big events every summer, but when I was 25 it was easily 10-12 events.

I can "veg out" on the couch now. I was too spun up to veg out 10 years ago.

I never take time to relax. Kids keep me on my toes.

I had to have a nice looking, new (late model) ride in my 20's. Now I don't care that much about what I drive so long as it's clean and runs.

Ditto. I'm driving a 2000 model SUV that only has 130k miles on it. I'll keep going until it falls apart. I really enjoy not having a car payment.

I used to be apathetic about about TV, other than sports. Now I watch sitcoms and reality TV and just bought a nice 46 inch LED Samsung to make sure I watch these shows in comfort. A TV would not have been a priority purchase 10 years ago.


I handle stress at work and home far better than I used to. I can handle aggravating people better, too. I'm not in near as big a hurry, even though I'm older and have "less time" to advance my career. For some reason when I got out of law school I was in a big damn hurry to hit the home run. My impatience actually hurt me. Twentysomethings; your twenties and early thirties are for learning...don't worry (too much) about money and being the superstar during that time. Learn, then use the knowledge from that period to earn.

So the point of that wandering diatribe was a solicitation to others on the board...how do (or did) your mid thirties differ from your mid twenties?
Click to expand...

Overall, I am far busier than I was 10 years ago, but I reap far more rewards. I make more money and because I manage our finances wisely, I have more disposable income than when I was a 25 year old with no responsibilities.
 
I'll be turning 29 soon
Sounds like getting older sucks.
I'm just starting to notice that even if I eat well on the weekends and work my ass off at the gym 5 days a week I can't just eat and drink to my hearts content (or discontent) on the weekends and expect not to gain weight. Not that I have to cut back too much....but even as few as a couple years ago if I put in 5 good hard days at the gym I could eat a large pizza, and drink 15 beers then have a 2:30am meal on both Friday and Saturday and still take some weight off. Now I can only do that one night a weekend and the other night I have to be pretty healthy (for weekend standards)...maybe a couple beers and a burger and call it a night
 
There is a sneaky but somewhat obvious benefit to being in your late 20's vs your early 20's.

When I was right out of school, all the girls our age gravitated towards guys who were older (more money, more stability, more well-groomed, etc). So when you're in your late 20's, you become the guy that those younger girls go after (provided you're not a bum). Not a bad perk of the aging process.
 
I'm only 24 and I'm not looking forward to the extra stress from kids that everyone's mentioning. Heck I get stressed out now if my boss looks at me funny. I'm definitely getting better with work stress in general, leaving work problems at work and things of that nature, but the 20's are sooo stress-free compared to other phases of life.
 
PhilliesDeacs said:
There is a sneaky but somewhat obvious benefit to being in your late 20's vs your early 20's.

When I was right out of school, all the girls our age gravitated towards guys who were older (more money, more stability, more well-groomed, etc). So when you're in your late 20's, you become the guy that those younger girls go after (provided you're not a bum). Not a bad perk of the aging process.
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So you become the younger friend of the guys in their early 30s who their wives and girlfriends don't like because you're always trolling for 21 year old girls.
 
I'm happy to be getting a little older; I'm so much more confident in myself now. Sometimes I wish I could go back and do some things differently with what I know now... similarly, when I overhear conversations on the Max between kids who are definitely in college I feel much more 'wise' and wish I could tell them that whatever it is, it doesn't matter.
I am definitely the youngest of those I work with, by a good 10 years or so. I don't see that changing (though someone else my age may be starting soon...).
I find my injury recovery time is longer, and I can't sit/lay on teh floor for as long of a time without getting uncomfortable- this has been within the last 2 years that I've really noticed this. As others have said, recovery from drinking is most definitely longer now than it was 5 years ago.

...I'm only 26. I wonder how this will all be when I'm 36 besides just moreso.
 
PhDeac said:
So you become the younger friend of the guys in their early 30s who their wives and girlfriends don't like because you're always trolling for 21 year old girls.
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Ive been that guy for the last 6-7 years. Although 21 year olds are not cool. 25-28 is sort of my wheelhouse. Im 34 and have been dating that age range for the last 8 years. There are defs some wives and girlfriends who get snarky when their SO runs out with TAB.
 
I will also say that while aging sort of blows, its good from a professional standpoint. If you are a successful banker/business owner or whatever, do you really want to pay for advice from a 27 year old lawyer. No, you don't.

No one really takes you seriously in law until you are 30+
 
TheTwinAndreBen said:
Ive been that guy for the last 6-7 years. Although 21 year olds are not cool. 25-28 is sort of my wheelhouse. Im 34 and have been dating that age range for the last 8 years. There are defs some wives and girlfriends who get snarky when their SO runs out with TAB.
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I see myself going a similar path.
I've been out with a few girls in 21-23 y/o range and they are hot, but they can be pretty awful....
 
TheTwinAndreBen said:
I will also say that while aging sort of blows, its good from a professional standpoint. If you are a successful banker/business owner or whatever, do you really want to pay for advice from a 27 year old lawyer. No, you don't.

No one really takes you seriously in law until you are 30+
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I think you just offended 90% of this board.
 
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