I just turned 30 not too long ago.
And honestly, I feel like my life is just getting started in a sense. Sure, 20's were fun. Would do some things the same / some things different. But I know when I am 80+ I will most likely look back fondly on my youth and how it went.
But also, I still feel like I am in my youth at 30. Maybe I am not asleep at 4am and up at 7am without any issues but my body and mind feel young.
This is all to say, what is with this modern mentality that being 30+ is "old"? Someone me up here. We still have plenty of time right? I get YOLO, FOMO, and all that. But really – 30 is still young in my eyes. What do you think?
30 comments
30 was the first age I started thinking about the whole “life is finite” concept. When that pops into your mind priorities begin to shift.
When you’re younger than 30 it seems like the upcoming “now I have to be an adult” age. When you’re older than 30 it seems more like “time to stop acting like a kid” age.
I think any change in decade causes people to re-evaluate the decade they’re coming out of. Just kind of a milestone that’s easy to base things around.
I’m 39, my 70 year old coworker is in better shape than I am and wants to get back into scuba. My 52 year old friend is running a marathon in a month.
My therapist had a great way of looking at it. He asked if I got life insurance (I was 36). I said I did. He asked if they asked me any medical questions. I told him they asked if I smoked. He said “Look if the professional statisticians think your odds of dying are so low they don’t give a crap about any other variable, they’re right.”
If you’re taking care of yourself, you’re in your prime. Physically you’re great. You’re not an idiot child anymore (less drama and nonsense). The investments in your career is starting to pay out. It’s good times.
40s are pretty awesome too.
30 is definitely not old. Maybe if you’re like 17, it seems old, but I work with people 50+ that are in great shape. It’s all about how you take care of yourself and handle your priorities. My father is 63 and benches 300, age is definitely a number lol
We’re still young but 30’s is when I think you finally start to understand the lifestyle of being an adult more or less.
The 20’s were your “party” fun. I find my 30’s the “mature/boring” fun as I’ve embraced a more peaceful and quiet day to day life. I have a proper career thus having a chance to travel the world and experience things I couldn’t when making lower wages. I’m not worried about social media and enjoy things without everything needing to be posted online for likes.
Now that’s just me. No judgment if to those that are still in that wilder phase, I just won’t be hanging out with you lmao.
Everything has come together for me in my thirties. Home ownership, wife, kids and career. I’ve had a lot of really great hobbies I feel like I’m pretty good at. I’m 39 now and feeling the first little hints of slowing down physically. I think my 40s are going to be excellent but I would be surprised if 30s aren’t the GOAT.
If you feel behind your peers, 30 can feel very old. Some people are balls deep in their careers, some also with families and mortgages, the whole shebang. And some are just starting to get things figured out after fucking up for a decade. It’s all perspective. I think in general people are expected to have it all figured out by 30 and actually “feel” like an adult. But the truth is you feel like you. You will always feel like the present you. You can’t not.
Modern mentality is that 30s is young. 30+ being old is dated mentality. So I’m not really sure what you’re talking about.
30 is just the beginning, methinks
Definitely just getting started. I’m 39. In the past decade I moved to a new city, changed jobs chasing higher pay four times, tried several business ideas with one winner, panned for gold, mountain biked, took the Jeep through mountain passes, made dozens of friends, traveled internationally a couple times and all over the US, bought a house, volunteered, and have a cozy living with favorite spots all over the state.
There is a lot of stability in the 30s, careerwise,personally( you have understood yourself better). Life gets quieter, like a new start
I’m 38. I feel old as fuck. I can still do anything I want, but the things I want to do are watch tv shows with my wife and go to bed early. Maybe some house projects or gardening.
Most definitely not going out drinking or clubbing.
I’ve noticed that after 30 is when people really start to blame age for why they’re out of shape and/or in poor health. It’s BS but it seems to make them feel better
>what is with this modern mentality that being 30+ is “old”
Citation needed. It’s not a modern mentality. I remember being about 27 and someone who was 31 made a reference to “being our age”, and I thought that was laughable, because we weren’t anything close to the same age…in my mind. Now here I am about 20 years later and I want to smack my younger self in the face for being such an asshole, because yeah, that’s about the same age. But people in their 20s think of themselves as a fundamentally different kind of person as people in their 30s – it was stupid 20 years ago and it’s stupid now.
Young people always think older people are old. The older people once thought that too…then they became older, and realised that was dumb. Damn kids, get off my lawn, etc. But it’s not new. The younger generation becomes the older generation, and the older generation dies, and the cycle continues forever. I think you’ll struggle to find too many people in their 30s complaining about aches and pains and “feeling old”. But I bet plenty of them 10 years ago were freaking out about turning 30. It’s just how young people view aging. We all learn, but it’s not remotely new.
Honestly, there are things you can do to stay spry- like dry up, stretch, exercise, focus on quality rest. I have grey in my beard, yet feel more virile than when I was in my 20’s .
30 is still young. 40 is starting to get old, and honestly, age is kind of more of a “feel” thing. Once you start picking up injuries you can’t get rid of? That’s old.
You start occasionally feeling aging at 27 and feel it daily at 35. You’re in the weird in between space
im off to a music festival in a few hours. Now that I am in my thirties I can afford to fly there instead of spending 12+ hours in a coach. I can also afford better camping facilities and kit and to relax and enjoy the nice pricey booze on offer there.
My 30s are WAY better than my 20s.
My 20’s sucked ass. I’m 30 now, and I finally feel like I have some direction. Time to actually live
30’s is like the culmination of youth. like being the senoior in highschool
30’s def young. Keep going young buck.
I’m 37. I started what would become my career at 30, had my first child at 32. Home the same year. Finally found inner peace around 35, got engaged like a week ago. Youre as young as you want to be. Live life at your own pace, but be aware that you can’t get time back. You’re doing fine.
Bought my first house in my 30’s, got married, had kids, great decade!
Turned 54 this week, just starting to feel old now.
30s is like your 20s but with more money and more life skills.
56 here, I was doing everything I did in my 30s that I did in my 20s, running, martial arts, hiking. I really didn’t slow down until my 40s, only because I developed a neurological issue, not from age but from a reaction to a medication. I’m pretty sure I’d still be doing those things now. I know I can go at least 24 hours without sleep still. I’ve never really drank, so I can’t speak to alcohol tolerance.
30 is still young in the grand scheme of things, and our typical milestones (marriage, kids, house) is happening later than it did for our parents, so that in ways feels like extended youth.
I think it’s because by 30 many people start feeling the effects of however they were living before. My body can’t handle cheese or gluttony as often, my eyesight has gotten slightly worse, I feel the impacts of lifestyle much more. These things went from being nice to haves, to more essential for feeling okay. If you’re healthy, 30s should be fun and a continuation of your 20s.
What I will say is my perspective, priorities and values have shifted a lot. Something about being 30 feels quite cemented deep into adulthood territory. Your habits won’t change unless you change, your relationships won’t improve unless you try, what worked yesterday won’t necessarily work tomorrow. 30 is being young with more data
Only sub 30 people say 30 is old.
My 30’s have been far better than my 20’s. Less friends, body can’t party anymore but I’m more attractive, confident, have more money and am in a stable relationship. So life=good
I think your 30s are the best decade…you still have energy, but also enough life experience that you can make better decisions. I think you also start to really appreciate your friends and family more as you start to really understand how finite our lives are.