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Ask HN: I’m 41 and still unmarried – what should I do?

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Re: Ask HN: I’m 41 and still unmarried – what should I do?

#501

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I used to believe this kind of advice. However, I’ve actually spent quite a bit of time working on myself and coming to peace with my life as it is. I think the everything will follow piece is a spiritual bypass that isn’t reflected in reality. There are so many confident, beautiful , career-driven women who are in the same predicament as me. I think that women are learning to take charge in every aspect of their liv…

I have no idea if the following applies to you, so I won't even suggest it might. I'll just share some anecdata. I'm male, married, with two beautiful, clever children and a beautiful, clever wife. The wife has a rich list of ambitions and expectations from life, more and more as time goes on. Model 21st century woman really. She's killing it at work, learning new sports, lifting weights, networking, recently joined…

Woah thanks for sharing your situation. Talking about it to others sounds like a step in the right direction.

One thing to consider is what you are teaching your kids by staying. Kids have a habit of picking up on these things at an early age and can internalize the unhealthy relationship you have as ‘normal’.

Re: Ask HN: I’m 41 and still unmarried – what should I do?

#502

The good news is a lot of this is easily fixed, by learning what's important and what isn't in your pursuit of romance! >By most cultural standards, according to my male friends, I’m smart, This is pretty irrelevant, even if true, which is always suspect coming from guys. It's also a very common BS compliment. > beautiful, If guys are using the B word, it probably means you are not attractive/hot/sexy, which is what…

No post body was provided.

Re: Ask HN: I’m 41 and still unmarried – what should I do?

#503
post #403
post #376

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This kind of 'helpful' advice creates resentment: it's like shoving your favorite vegan dish to a steak lover who came specifically to eat a good steak.

And if such posts were allowed/encouraged it won't be long before dozens of other people appear asking us to embrace Allah and his prophet, or whether we have accepted Jesus as our Lord and savior, … it helps nobody.

Very literally the poster said, preliminarily, that his expression may not be perfect out of linguistic challenges, and content wise, that the submitter should use the recommended literature to understand why some do not want to pass through the contextual experience.

Re: Ask HN: I’m 41 and still unmarried – what should I do?

#504
What I've read here, in your original post and the many answers you provided, made me think that you are a very intelligent, kind and interesting woman.

Many have given you a lot of good advice, I'll try to add my thoughts.

You talk about your age and the fact that you are "running out of time" as a problem in finding the right person. I don't think it's actually a problem. You can use that to your advantage.

You are in a position in which you can - and in my opinion you should - make super clear what you are looking for. A man to have a family, very quickly.

By saying this upfront, it's absolutely true that you will scare off most men. But you do not need to find many men. You only need one. You need to find the one man out there that is willing to start a family with you. With all the pros and cons you, as a person, bring.

Having this in mind, I agree with you that you, as a woman, can be in control of the process. Just as a man would do, I would suggest you to be the "predator". Go and find the person you want and then lead the relationship toward your goal, in a trustworthy and transparent manner, of course.

The last thing I'd like to add is about expectations. You sound like an alpha woman (I say it as a very good thing). For that, I suspect you won't be able to find an alpha man though. That's not because you have something wrong. On the contrary, it's because most men are scared by women smarter or more achieving than them. And that's on them. A true alpha man will probably be looking for a much younger woman, so the chances of finding one are extremely slim.

The good news is that there are plenty of men that would love to partner with an alpha woman. The only problem is that they'll never admit it. So it is on you to take the lead. As long as they can feel as the man of the couple (in bed, or in day to day decisions, or in whatever they think makes them The men), you being more achieving won't be a problem. If you have a good salary, I bet most men would love that.

As actionable advice I'd say this: on any online platform you can think of, go and describe yourself as you did here (maybe leave out numbers, few men like women with more experience than them...). Most men are attracted to women who appear vulnerable (not a native English speaker, I hope the word is correct). The amount of replies you got here is pretty good evidence of that.

So go out and show every man you can that you are vulnerable because you want a family and you struggle to find the right one. Someone will want to be that one.

When that happens, you take the lead, and at that point accept him for whatever he is. He will probably be less smart and less attractive than you. Go past that, because it's very likely that he will be the best person for you to build a family with.

If you manage to read this, and decide to go forward with any of my suggestions, I'd love to know how things turn out for you. Good luck!

Re: Ask HN: I’m 41 and still unmarried – what should I do?

#505

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Who is we? Speak for yourself… it’s a very outdated view… it’s some sh!tty legacy code frequently causing problems - that badly needs rewriting. And someone more intelligent / independent wouldn’t go for that arrangement you laid out.

[flagged]

I was commenting on this specific wording:

"We're looking for a wife— take care of my house and children, be attractive and cook"

Who is we in this context? All men?

So cooking, taking care of children and being attractive is hard-coded into the biology and psychology of women?

Re: Ask HN: I’m 41 and still unmarried – what should I do?

#506

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I used to believe this kind of advice. However, I’ve actually spent quite a bit of time working on myself and coming to peace with my life as it is. I think the everything will follow piece is a spiritual bypass that isn’t reflected in reality. There are so many confident, beautiful , career-driven women who are in the same predicament as me. I think that women are learning to take charge in every aspect of their liv…

I have no idea if the following applies to you, so I won't even suggest it might. I'll just share some anecdata. I'm male, married, with two beautiful, clever children and a beautiful, clever wife. The wife has a rich list of ambitions and expectations from life, more and more as time goes on. Model 21st century woman really. She's killing it at work, learning new sports, lifting weights, networking, recently joined…

Your kids will be fine, get out and live your life and be a positive strong influence on them. Think about what your kids see every day, the same things you described here. This becomes their model of a father, a family. Do you want that?

I am divorced with two beautiful teenage daughters from my current -happy- marriage and a 20 year old son from my first. My son not only understands why the divorce happened (dysfunctional relationship that made me feel miserable), but has admitted that seeing me happy and fulfilled has done wonders for his psychological development. He was 6 years old when I divorced my first wife.

Re: Ask HN: I’m 41 and still unmarried – what should I do?

#507

Earlier quoted context omitted.

All true. Maybe I should post this on your channel on Reddit:) I certainly don’t lead the first date with wanting to have kids unless people ask. But I’ve heard from several relationship experts to be sure values are aligned in the first couple dates. Fortunately, people usually specify this in dating apps so you can filter for people who don’t want kids. Funnily enough, one of the biggest turn-offs I’ve experienced…

> I don’t think there’s any shame in being clear I want a family soon This ruins a lot of my friends dating scenarios. I think you maybe should rethink that. In my humble opinion, the laws of supply and demand are stacked against you. Most single men in there 40's expect that there partners are wanting to have kids and feel pressured by hearing it on a date. You also could miss high quality options who say they're "…

this sounds like a failure of communicating more than anything else. your friend at 38 wasn't making clear why he didn't want kids. in his position i'd have said, i don't earn enough money yet for kids.

Men need to feel they have a financial security or they will pass

i wonder if men who need a high income before they fell that security are potentially covering up other insecurities or are just very materialistic. i'd be wary.

"not in the next 2 years." Then you can re-evaluate a month later

i don't like that much. i'd prefer people clearly state their expectations. make clear what conditions you expect before you can have kids. don't have hidden criteria that make you change your mind without the other being aware.

(btw, if i may say so, if we are all going to wait until we have such a high income before having kids then the birthrate is going to drop even more than it already is. but that's just another sign that raising kids in the US is just way to expensive)

Re: Ask HN: I’m 41 and still unmarried – what should I do?

#508
My wife and me found each other somewhat later then usual, at least over here in the Netherlands. We both suck at the dating game, we went on a vacation to Namibia, it was a group thing and we bonded by the camp fire. No pressure, not intended to date afterwards, no love at first sight. Yet here we are, 15 years later and two children. The situations you describe are pressure situations, relaxing having a good time worked better for me.

Re: Ask HN: I’m 41 and still unmarried – what should I do?

#509

> My time for having children is running out. > Please encouragement only, no discouragement. I’m discouraged enough already. IMHO, that's exactly the problem. Bear with me for a sec. Unless you find someone who has the exact same objective and wants to have kids asap (i.e., a more transactional relationship), this will always be a major turn off. Your partner will feel pressured to make a decision quickly, and soone…

I used to believe this kind of advice. However, I’ve actually spent quite a bit of time working on myself and coming to peace with my life as it is. I think the everything will follow piece is a spiritual bypass that isn’t reflected in reality. There are so many confident, beautiful , career-driven women who are in the same predicament as me. I think that women are learning to take charge in every aspect of their liv…

Because building a startup is unfortunately an entirely different endeavor from finding a mate. Otherwise successful entrepreneurs would always have happy home lives, and we all know that’s not the case.

Re: Ask HN: I’m 41 and still unmarried – what should I do?

#510

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[flagged]

I was commenting on this specific wording: "We're looking for a wife— take care of my house and children, be attractive and cook" Who is we in this context? All men? So cooking, taking care of children and being attractive is hard-coded into the biology and psychology of women?

Seeking those traits in women is hard-coded into men. (Obviously there are exceptions - as with any rule - but do I really need to add this caveat ... ?)
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