So I am 24 and am wondering if it is too old to be dating a really fit 48 year old man? I have my own place with my sister who brings over random guys all the time. She is very accepting of my choices to be who i am. I am just wondering if 48 is too old?
I... honestly feel like it probably is, but I don't know you or him or the situation. I don't really know how different your lives are, although I suspect you are at very different stages in life. I don't understand the power dynamic between you--although I suspect it is heavily slanted toward one or the other of you--most people would say it would skew toward him, but I've known older-younger couples where it skewed heavily toward the younger (although I didn't really feel like it was that much healthier). I don't know how different your goals for a relationship might be--although I suspect they may be very different. I don't really know a lot. So I'll leave it at that--my suspicion that it probably is.
No age is "too old" for another, in my opinion (except for minors of course). It depends entirely on the relationship in question. We don't know you, we don't know him. We can't tell you if it'd work or not. It's up to you to figure that out. Dating a 48-year old isn't inherently a bad thing, or 'taboo'. But you have to understand and be prepared to deal with the things that come with your age disparity: differences in interests, maturity, desires in life, physical ability, friends, etc. If you two can get past those things - enjoy your relationship! If you can't - oh well. You tried.
In a perfect world, there is no such thing as too old. In a perfect world, all relationships are healthy when they are between two people who truly care for one another; however, this world is far from perfect. I would strongly recommend that you not pursue a relationship which would automatically make longevity extremely unlikely. Possible, certainly; relationships between a partner and another twice their age are began every day, but very few last through the struggles that are inevitably going to come with that relationship. People say that you can't help who you love, but that is not true. You can't help who you are infatuated with. Learning to sort through those that merely catch our eye and those that we can reasonably expect to spend our days with is something that can save us an endless amount of heartache throughout our lives.
I hate answering a question with more questions, but I have two for you. First, what does your heart say? Second, what does your gut say? Whatever they're telling you to do....do it. If you have conflicting feelings about it go with the stronger of the two. If you don't you will always wonder "what if" and what if's lead to regret.
24 x 2 = 48. Twice as old. Oh my. That generational gap would probably ruin your relationship before it even starts. No, I don't think it's a good idea to pursue him.
An age gap that large is almost certain to make for an unsustainable relationship. Balance of power/control is crucial to a healthy relationship, and it's all but impossible to have that with that large an age gap. Additionally, there are usually (but not always) significant generational differences in interests, hobbies, goals, and such. It can work for a while, but it is very rare for it to work out in the long term, and in many cases, it ends up being really unhealthy, usually for the younger person, because a codependent relationship forms that inhibits the independence of the younger person. I'd be inclined to suggest that in this case, I think you'd be much better off with someone closer to your own age.
My last partner was 50 and I'm 24. It worked well for a year really - however eventually he got jealous and paranoid - always expecting me to run off with someone younger and in the long term I learnt that it would not work out really. But I had to learn that on my own and you may have to as well. Do what makes you happy - it may not make you happy in the long term, but as long as it makes you happy now, then that's what counts!
