# Middle Age?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/middle-age/692640>\
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion\
**Created:** [July 8, 2014, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/middle-age/692640 "2014-07-08T15:14:41Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 3

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\
**Post date:** [July 10, 2014, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/middle-age/692640/41 "2014-07-10T02:11:19Z")

</div>

I will divide ages simply :

—\> 20 : kid  
20-40 : young  
40-60 : middle aged  
60-80 : old  
80+ : not dead yet

FTR, I’m a 49 yo middle-aged man.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\
**Post date:** [July 10, 2014, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/middle-age/692640/42 "2014-07-10T04:03:10Z")

</div>

> [@clairobscur](#):
>
> I will divide ages simply :
> 
> —\> 20 : kid  
> 20-40 : young  
> 40-60 : middle aged  
> 60-80 : old  
> 80+ : not dead yet
> 
> FTR, I’m a 49 yo middle-aged man.

I endorse your groupings! Nice work.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\
**Post date:** [July 10, 2014, 8:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/middle-age/692640/43 "2014-07-10T08:52:18Z")

</div>

Middle age is when you start to feel old, but are surprised by it and still think you’re not old yet. That’s different for everyone, but is usually late 30s to early 40s. It goes up to retirement age, which 65 is a nice round average representative number for, even though most Governments are now messing around with that cut-off.

So lets say 38 to 65.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![stui\_magpie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stui_magpie/32/11010_2.png) [@stui\_magpie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stui_magpie)\
**Post date:** [July 10, 2014, 10:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/middle-age/692640/44 "2014-07-10T10:25:09Z")

</div>

Middle age starts at 40.

I’m in my very late 30’s.

I’m 49 now and planning on being in my very late 30’s for a few more decades yet. Growing old is compulsory, growing up is optional.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![epbrown01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7ba0ec/32.png) [@epbrown01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/epbrown01)\
**Post date:** [July 10, 2014, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/middle-age/692640/45 "2014-07-10T18:59:47Z")

</div>

I’m in the 45-60 camp. Forty seems a bit young, and did back when I was 40 (in my 50s now), but 40 wasn’t the milestone for me that it was for friends and siblings (my sisters went all out for their 40th birthdays). At 50, there was a bit of “Uh-oh, I actually **am** getting old.”

It really comes down to how your parents were, I think. A friend of mine is super nervous now that we’re in our 50s, as no one on either side of her family has made it to sixty.

[Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/middle-age/692640.md?page=2)