Hanging out with people who are vastly different in age (father, children)

[TheBeagleLady]

I'm 28 and have friends in their 50's. They are mostly fellow dog lovers that I met while volunteering at the shelter. A couple of my other dog people friends are in their 40's and late 30's. I have always gotten along better with older people. I have very few friends that are younger than me. The friend closest to me in age is almost 2 years older.

[BabyBoomers2]

Wife and I are 61/62 and prefer to meet couples that are in our age bracket. We love Motown music, Classic Rock and some of the older Country music suck as Garth Brooks, Brooks-Dunn, Diamond Rio. Went to a Grand Funk Railroad Concert a couple of months ago and had a blast. At least 90% of the people were in our age group and a lot of the guys had been in Nam like myself.

[bigcats]

When I was in high school and college, my circle of friends was the other high schoolers and college folks.

When I was doing mad cat rescue my circle of friends was generally my other "cat lady" friends (and one "cat man"). They were generally over 45 (I was in my early 20's) and up to their 70's.

Where I am now, my circle of friends is generally the other teachers at my school, who are also generally older than me.

I guess it has to do with whoever I'm in proximity with and doing things in common with.

[Melissa78703]

My first editor was in her late 40's when I met her, and I was in my early 20s. I'd always wanted to work with her, and I respected her a lot. We were friends, but she was more like the cool childfree aunt that I never had in my life who encouraged me in a way that my parents didn't, with respect to my writing career. When she died prematurely (cancer), I was devastated. It was like losing a family member.

We had a different type of friendship than I had with my same-age peers. It was more of a mentoring/niece-aunt thing, we never went out and partied and drank and scoped out the cute boys like I did with my younger friends. It's really hard to explain.

[ashcody]

I don't see a problem with it. It does seem rare, but I think it would be nice to get advice from another female's perspective who has had experience in all other aspects besides my mother. While I was bartending my first year in college I worked with a woman who was about 20 yrs. older than me and we got along great, we hung out together outside of work a few times.

[MontanaGuy]

It seems completely normal to me. I've hung out with people who were either much older or much younger particularly during my work career because when you spend a lot of time with people during the week it's not uncommon to become friends and the age differences, at least for me, have never seemed all that important. During the last ten years or so before I retired I made a number of friends at work who I got to know very well who were probably 25 years or so younger than I am. We also got together for drinks on weekends with their spouses from time to time. This has nothing to do with sex, it's just finding people who have similar personalities, things in common or a sense of humor that seems to work. I don't think that friendships have to fit into particular age brackets.

[GeorgeLucasLongLostChin]

I have friends of all ages. From teenagers to the elderly.

I don't actively seek to hang out with them but, won't mind doing something with them if the opportunity presents itself.

[Iamrita]

I am in my mid-fifties and usually find that "hanging out" with people in my age group bores me. Some of the reasons are:
1. They are not open to new ideas.
2. Tend to be judgmental.
3. Not open to listening to new or alternative music or bands---they like "oldies"...
4. Wear clothes, hairstyles, etc. that they never think of updating.
5. Are generally too serious and uptight about life in general.
6. Act older than their chronological age.
7. Have little to no interest in exploring new hobbies or learning new skills.

So I am usually thought of as the "odd one or weirdo" in a group of my peers even though I personally don't suffer from terminal uniqueness. On the other hand, when I am in a group of people 20-30 years younger than me (in a college classroom, or photography workshop, or acting class), I'm energized by their youth and creativity. Quite obviously being the oldest in the group, I'm initially regarded with some caution and occasional giggles, but after a week or two I have acquired many friends usually commenting on how "surprised" they are that someone "my age" could still-- fill-in-the-blank---paint, act, draw, write, dance, dress, etc.

To sum it up, I think age distinctions are boring. The thought of living in an "Over-55" community to me seems like "the kiss of death". As long as they let me I'll be hanging out with younger people forever and enjoying every minute.

[*VaNiLlaGoRrilLa*]

I am 30. My boyfriend is 45. My sister is 26. My best friend is 24. I am going to lunch with a lady next week who has just turned 60.

As long as I can carry on a decent adult conversation with someone and we get along, I don't mind what age they are. I was just 21 when I met my boyfriend, then 36.

[leatherchaps]

I think it is ok to hang out with someone older like that. I have a lot of older friends I hang with. They each teach me different things. They are awesome and I generally like spending time with them. We have a lot to talk about.

NOW, I have also hung out with a lot of 50 year old men that are married/taken and I thought they were 'friends' and they ended up hitting on me! UGH! RUN AWAY FAST if this happens! I did. No more so called friendship there.