Determining the Age Range for Dating

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I found an interesting article that proposes a math equation for suggesting the age of people you should be willing to date. I really liked this idea although as the person’s age increases, the less correct this equation seems. I really thought it worked well at the lower age ranges but in the 40s things started to get a little excessive first for the upper limit and then later for the lower limit as well.

For example, my dad happens to be 57 years old. The equation given would suggest that his optimal dating range would be between 36.5 and 100. While I could see my dad dating someone around 37 (although he’s married so he won’t be!) I just couldn’t imagine him having anything in common with someone who was 100.

With that in mind, I decided to try my hand at an equation by adding a hard cap to to both the upper and lower limit. Things still aren’t perfect but the ranges seem more reasonable. The new equation (created using excel) is:

Lower Limit
=IF(YOUR_AGE – SUM((YOUR_AGE/2)+7) > 20, YOUR_AGE-20, SUM((YOUR_AGE/2)+7)) (rounded down when a fraction)

Upper Limit
=IF(((YOUR_AGE-7)*2) – YOUR_AGE > 20, YOUR_AGE+20, (YOUR_AGE-7)*2)

For the lower limit, I’m checking if the lower range is more than 20 years younger than YOUR_AGE and if it is I’m capping it at 20 years younger. The same concept is applied to the upper limit. Here’s what my initial results look like:

determine-dating-age-range

This is just one section of the entire results and you can download the entire excel sheet here. While it’s not perfect (it’s still hard for me to imagine my dad dating someone who is 77) I do think the limits look better with the artificial caps applied.

Again, you can see the original article that this discussed this idea in detail over at Insatiable Hee. As that article points out, you should date the person who makes you happy (regardless of age) and I made this chart out of interest for the topic, not as some kind of rule that I think should be followed without question.

 

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About the Author:

Brad initially struggled with online dating but over time became quite successful using it. He met his wife using online dating and has been giving advice and helping people improve their results since 2007. He has written a Free Online Dating Guide to help others find success with online dating. You can learn more about his personal experience using online dating and running this website here.

Comments

  1. JohnD  December 26, 2011

    It was no surprise to me that the link lead me to a woman’s blog. Of course one may choose whatever age range they want on their profile, but if one is looking for a long term relationship, one can not ignore the fact that women in their 40s on average marry a man 4 years older, and conversely, men in their 40s on average marry a woman 4 years younger, so the ideal dating range for a 44 YO woman would be 43-53, and he ideal dating range for a 44 year old man would be 35-45.

  2. Halenfan  July 18, 2014

    It gets frustrating when sick men in their 40’s are trying to contact a 21 year old. I just don’t understand why they do. Like, they are the same age as some of our fathers.

  3. Jim  December 26, 2014

    I downloaded your spreadsheet and looked at the age ranges that fit for me (I’m 52). The lower was 33, and the upper was 72. Wrong on both counts if you ask me. My own daughters are 33 and 31 (yes, they were born when I was young, but there’s an advantage to having them grown when I’m in midlife). Sorry, but I really can’t see myself having much at all in common with someone around my daughters’ ages. And 72? No thank you. Even 62 or 57 is too old for me. Of course, I’m a guy, and typically the guy in a relationship is older (interesting, though, neither of my ex wives were younger…).

    I use 43-52 for my age range, and I’m thinking about upping the lower limit to 45. Works for me.

  4. leonik  November 22, 2015

    Why dating range is big? according to this range if you are 43 years old you can date between 28 to 63.

  5. Brian  January 9, 2016

    This is fine in principal… but I wonder if it needs to account for the fact that the majority of woman seek an older man, and some (e.g. very mature, with kids) want a significantly older man.