I'm in a strange place in life.
When I was young (one of only a handful of adopted Asians in a predominantly white area,) I always got hit on by men old enough to be my father and grandfather.
I married young, but he left, married someone else, and had a family.
When he and I were married, we had a dream -- we wanted to work hard, raise a family while we were young, then hopefully retire early and travel. It took me many years (and a lot of work from God) to pull myself back together after the split, and since I didn't seem to meet anyone to marry, I set my sight on the "hopefully retire early and travel" part even as a single.
Now that I'm steadily trying to approach that goal, I'm honestly not sure where marriage would fit in -- or to whom. I'm attracted to practical knowledge and life experience, but find older men often talk down to me. I'm happy to learn from someone, but it's hard to do so if the person automatically sees you as inferior, without your own skill set to bring to the table.
Oddly, now I often get asked out by younger guys, but then it can feel like, as my friend
@Snackersmom has very wisely described, a woman who has all the responsibility (if I had more life experience in certain areas) but none of the authority (because if I got married, he would be the lead.)
One of the major relationship issues in the past was always money. I'm no guru, and I've never had fancy jobs, but my parents taught me from day one to budget and save. In every relationship, I found myself having to help pay the guy's bills because he couldn't manage his money. I don't think I could handle that situation again. I would probably have to marry someone who was good at budgeting and saving on his own.
I've met wonderful guys with amazing personalities and talents. And they deserve to meet a woman who can meet them where they're at and help them on their journey. Older guys have families and often have kids and grandkids they're helping to raise or help send to school and I'm not sure how I could fit in. As for younger guys, I'm past the point of wanting children, and I could never rob a younger guy of the chance for a family.
Instead, I often find myself being a bit of a buddy friend/cheerleader to great guys who go on to meet wonderful women later on. I used to joke with some guys that if we were friends, it must mean God had an amazing woman on the way for them -- and it's not me!
And if that's the role God has for me, I've actually gotten to be ok with it, for the most part.
It's not that I wouldn't reconsider, it's just that I think it would take a very special situation.