Dating after fifty for men and women

Sometimes, it becomes necessary to begin life afresh after fifty, a divorce or the loss of a spouse may have puts you back into the arena of love to find someone to share your life with or someone to date, with your options kept open. Finding romance at a later age is really much easier than it is when you're younger, atleast in some ways. You can leverage parts of your personality such as your experience both in and out of bed! Also your emotional maturity, relative financial stability and your willingness to commit. Most of this probably meant little or nothing to prospective dates in your youth.

So dating after fifty isn't as tough as some would like to believe. You don't necessarily have to be a millionaire or strikingly handsome if you're looking for dating opportunities after fifty unless of course you're looking for someone out of the pages of Vogue or Cosmopolitan..those can be high maintenance women, we assure you!

By the time you cross fifty, life has changed in many ways. You no longer have the same stamina you did at 25. If you were a good looker in your younger days, you're no longer as cocky about your looks. On the other hand you're rarely flat broke now and hopefully have more to fall back on than when you a kid stealing kisses from your girl. When you're past fifty, you will in all likelihood attract women in their forties or if you're luckier, in their mid to late thirties. Most of these will likely be divorcees or single parents. Realistically, it would be hard to get a 27 year old tall attractive blond to fall for you, unless you're Bill Clinton (and if that's you Bill, maybe you can write a column for us).

Yet with years of experience and hopefully some wisdom we can leverage the advantages of age. Women who're older are more likely to look for men who can offer them love, emotional support, stability and romance rather than a short term fling. This sort of stability can rarely come from much younger men who have no shortage of opportunities with women.

Where to look for a date

Look all around you. Consider women you run into every day. Take a fresh look at your workmates. Some of them could be single. Consider the vibes they give you. Is a new recruit coming back to you for guidance more often than necessary? Maybe she likes being around you and may be open to knowing you better. Most organizations have policies about office dating. Make sure you don't break any rules. You don't want to end up with a date and lose your job! That would be disaster. Keep an eye at the coffee shop you frequent. Regulars usually drop by at the same time each day for their daily fix of coffee. Just lock eyes, smile and take it further from there.

Get in touch with people from the past - ex-colleagues, old friends, friends of friends, neighbours, ex-neighbours. Just meeting up with people you've known can bring about interesting possibilities for love and romance. Don't be rigid about this. Join interest groups, not-for-profit organizations, hobby classes or just go for walks to your local park. Go at the same time each day to run into the same people over and over again. Get familar and smile!

Look for love online

There are numerous web sites which bring together singles online. There are dating web sites for several niches. There are sites for short term flings, dating sites for vegans, pet lovers, leftists, right wing people, asians, latinas, african-americans, large people, tall people etc. Look for your type of site. Fill out a profile and start sending mail to people with interesting profiles.

Success stories of dating after fifty

Paul, a 52 year old banker from PA ended his marriage of 14 years in 2006. "It was tough to end a relationship that lasted so long but we had drifted apart and there were no two ways about it. A break up was imminent and despite there being no kids involved, it made me feel guilty for some time. Eventually I think it was best for us both. I knew I had to start again. In March 2007, I decided I would actively seek out women to date. Being fifty two I thought my options would be limited. I'm not particularly good looking. I've had a good career as a banker and am well settled. I'm also well read and can really afford to retire and live on passive income if I choose to although I wouldn't even think of it! I'm not a big spender and wouldn't think of going overboard spending money on women to attract them. I met Katherine at a trade conference in March, the same month I had resolved to get back to the dating scene. Kate was 39, attractive and had never married. I found this strange. We had spent a day together talking and she seemed a very charming lady and looked just over 30. I learnt that Kate had several family responsibilities and could never marry because of it. She had a brief relationship with a man ten years older to her. He died in an air crash. It shocked her but she soon came to terms with it. Never married though. I thought Kate was wonderful to talk to, took her number and got back home. I spent the next three days thinking about her and on the fourth I showed up at her door with a large bouquet of roses! We started dating and have since become a couple. I may even want to marry her someday and I'm quite sure when I propose, she'll accept!"

Paul found that his limited success with women when he was much younger was far removed from his success in attracting them now. "You have to make use of some advantage you have. With me, it's the financial security I have and the intellectual stimulation we offer each other. It also helped that Kate has always preferred older men. I find many women have a preference for older men".

Janet, a 36 year old single mother and insurance agent is inclined to agree."I've always gone for men who were atleast ten years older to me. At one point I dated this guy who was 22 years older! My dad threw a fit! I was nineteen and he was forty one. My dad was forty five then! I got married at 27 to a guy only three years older to me, ironically! He wooed me so much that I finally accepted. Eight years later, one week away from our marriage anniversary, we filed for divorce and went separate ways. The divorce was amicable and we didn't fight over money.  We were just not each other's type and it wasn't meant to last. Two months later I met my current boyfriend, Mike who's 56 years old. We met through an online dating web site. I was very skeptical about online dating because I kept running into guys who placed very old pictures or made tall claims in their profiles which got busted when you met them. My work mate convinced me to sign up for a site which had mostly profiles of older people."

Most senior dating sites don't attract teenagers looking to have fun and that leaves them clutter free. They have serious people looking for relationships. You just need to sign up with them and get active in sending and receiving mail. Janet met Mike in less than a week of posting her profile and they've been dating exclusively for six months now.

Many women have a fascination for older women and fifty plus men looking for dating opportunities have more than a fair chance of scoring with younger women. There are many websites which bring together fifty plus men and women but there's no reason to limit your options to only them. There are no age limits on dating sites in general and anyone above eighteen can sign up. On some sites such as eHarmony and PerfectMatch, members tend to be relatively older, in their thirties and on, as they're looking for committed relationships. Some others such as Thirty Plus Singles specialize in their age group. Catholic and Christian dating sites also attract forty plus and fifty plus men and women. For gay men over fifty, Gay.com remains a good pick.