The Uncomfortable Truth About Dating In Your 30s

Dating in your 30s is completely different than dating in your teens and 20s. Here are some of the main differences that real singles have pointed out:

“It’s awesome. Less games, more honesty, better dinners. Have my own place that’s nice so that’s cool. Increased confidence and not giving a shit about rejection also a plus.” — [deleted]

“It depends. If you don’t put up with playing games then not too bad. I have found being upfront about that to be very helpful. Be honest about what you expect from the beginning. I kind of like it better because I have learned a lot in life since I was 20. I know that love doesn’t mean you think a person is perfect.” — superepicnerdgirl

“Sucks. People at this stage of life know who they are. Which sounds like a good thing but it also means that instead of figuring this life shit out together you already both have set paths, and trying to make them both go in similar directions just leads to short stints and the illusion you could find someone better around the corner. I blame internet dating sites!” — DeeDeeInDC

“Like watching a movie you’ve already seen a million times and memorized all the lines wishing you could just fast forward to the good part.” — Veeksvoodoo

“I liked it! In my 20s, I had fun, but was still drinking, and I got into a lot of crazy drama-filled relationships with girls from the bar. In my 30s, I was a little more discriminating, and I learned to not swing at the easy pitches. Met my wife at 32, got married at 34, and now we’ve got two kids.” — GeraldBrennan

“Knowing what you want and thus not having to deal with the games and drama of dating when you’re younger is fantastic.” — Andromeda321

“Baggage. So much baggage. Assuming that the average person started dating at the age of 14, by the time you’re 34, there’s 20 years of dating baggage there – jealousy, insecurity etc etc. And yeah, sometimes there’s kids involved, along with the ex-spouse. I’ve not personally dated anyone with kids, but if I were to, you need to create some kind of relationship with the kid’s other parent (I’m not saying be BFFs) for the sake of the kids. There has to be a consensus with regards to parenting, discipline, treats etc. Kids need consistency and it’s also a good example for them to see that while their parents aren’t together anymore, they can still hang out and be civil. Plus side: in your 30s, your bullshit-o-meter improves. You put up with less shit, and (hopefully) less into people because of what they look like.” — iraddney

“When you get older every your new date more and more reminds a job interview.” — Flame2walker

“Dating in my 20s was fun, and still finding out about what I liked and what being a good boyfriend was all about. How to learn to share feelings and stuff like that, sharing space, how to get along with someone, and ultimately falling in and out of love. Dating in my 30s, I’m meeting people that have also done that stuff in their 20s and have formed their own ideas about what affection is, about what to share and how to protect themselves from heartache and all that. It becomes much more difficult, I’ve found to find someone who is truly open minded (myself included) about how to mesh two lives together into a relationship. But that doesn’t mean I’ll stop looking.” — Project2r

“Seems like everyone is in panic mode looking for their next SO.” — mike4real