At what age does not having kids and not being married start to suck?

Mid 30s for some people. Mid 50s for others.

Doesn't happen to some people who somehow seem to enjoy being without a family.

Never

Just live your life, man. Whatever makes you happy.

In my 20's I never understood the older folks (40's+) that were single and spent every weekend trying to hookup with 20 somethings at the beach house or at the college frat parties. I still don't really understand it. Nevertheless, they really seemed to enjoy it. Also in my 20's I absolutely could not fathom why some people my age were popping out kids and taking on mortgages. Nevertheless, they seemed happy.

Depends how badly you want said things in your life.

Married with no kids, and so far no problems with that. Just was never something we ever wanted, and not something I regret at all. Now, not having kids but it's something you always wanted but couldn't due to a medical issue, that would be terrible. I really think it would creep in on you later in life, probably lots of blaming of each other, stuff like that.

I'll say that the people I know that had their kids early are the happiest of the parents I know. Having kids really late in life, man.. while the kid gets the benefit of higher income parents, the parents are old, they lack the energy, and by the time the kids leave the house the parents are too old to enjoy their retirement and "empty nest" years.

The early years with kids can actually be the most rewarding and magical. You adapt to having to watch toddlers every second to make sure they don't put something gross in their mouth or run out into the street. And you learn to keep your cool and work through the fits and tantrums after a while. By the time they hit middle school, it gets pretty hard to get them to spend quality time with you as they are always wanting to be with friends instead (which is normal and healthy).

There is no perfect time to have kids. Young parents have more energy, but less patience and wisdom. The opposite is the case with older parents. It is definitely important to spend a few years married before having kids so you can get in a bunch of grownup vacations and adventures before all your vacations are to theme parks and grandparents' houses.

If you are a social butterfly, being childless and unmarried can be very fulfilling with lots of dinner parties, nights out, vacations with friends, etc. If you are not very outgoing, having kids will actually force you to make a lot more adult friends than not having kids. But there is also plenty of time in life without kids for all the adult stuff. Nothing comes close to seeing your kid take their first steps, run out of their room on Christmas morning, finally ride a bike without training wheels, and so on.

I am 40 now. I'd say say somewhere in the past 3 to 5 years it has become less than ideal. Just based on not having a major thing in common with the majority of people. But this is a thing that should really only be experienced with the RIGHT person. at least 50% of people get this wrong, and I don't have the stomach for getting that wrong.

Also, having little kids is not miserable if you have a good support system. If you decide to move away from your family, it is going to be a lot more difficult. Grandparents, aunts, uncles, etc. can really help take a load off

Good post

Not having kids only sucks if you don't have them and you want them. If you don't want them, then it never really becomes an issue.

Not being married is trickier in my experience. But generally speaking it sucks way more to be in a bad marriage than it does to be doing your own thing and single. No matter what age you are.

We were 42-43 when starring a family. 2 is enough and has been amazing. I didn't really want kids prior to 40 anyway. Feel young, very fit and much wiser. Spent a lot of time in pre-retirement travel with my wife. Now at 54, starting to travel and explore new places with our children. Life is good! 110 here we come!

Early 30s for me. Friends were moving on and busy. If you wanted friends they’d need to start being younger and younger. Started to feel like a loser. But got married mid 30s and has been great.

I was married by my early 30s, never had kids, divorced in late 30s and now trying to rebuild. It does feel like all of my good friends from college are having 2-3 kids right now and too busy to chat much online (I respect that though, Totally get why lol, I sent them gifts for their kids). Now i go to running store fun runs sometimes and seems like everyone with time to make an appearance at these things is in their 20s. Not really a problem, I would rather take my time in life than rush things. I think being older and single means I can better and more easily take care of myself. I can stay up late at night if I want and sleep in. I can go for solo runs at night this summer when it’s cooler out and not have to wake up the next day with a wife on her way to work and kids screaming or something. I can set up PT appointments or strength sessions for all kinds of things to keep me healthy running.

I'll offer this in two parts. 1. Kids and 2. marriage/life partner.

1. As a father of two kids who loves my kids, I'm gonna say something that pisses off a lot of other parents: If having kids is not the right thing for you, then don't have them; you can clearly enjoy life fully without kids. I have a number of friends who don't have kids and have full fulfilling lives. And here's another thing. If I never would have had kids, who I love, life would not suck. There are joys in life that come with having kids that you can only get from kids. But there are joys that I now don't get from life because I have kids. What's YOUR priority in life? If not having kids is not for you, you aren't being selfish as I've heard so many (mostly miserable) parents tell happy people who don't have kids. And for god's sake, don't ever let anyone guilt you into having kids. For both your sake and the potential kids' sake alike.

2. Now, the being single thing is different to me. I'm not saying you have to get married, per se, but being uncommitted to anyone and having no one committed to you by the time you're, say, in your late 30s actually would seem pretty miserable to me. I can't think of living without a dedicated partner and lover who I'm also dedicated to. Life alone through these years of establishing yourself and making career moves that may require physical moves and taking financial chances actually seems like it would be scary to me. My wife and I are both career oriented and have been able to bounce ideas off each other and consider career moves/taking chances all the time, with knowing we have the unyielding support of the other one there.

Plenty of real men into crypto. See how that turns out

It never starts to suck.

How can you miss what you don't have and did not strive for? (unless you looked like a goblin)

Well as a widower with no kids it were the times that you needed somebody around.

The 2am ER visits when I shouldn’t have driven myself and the arrangement for someone to take me home when I’ve had procedures done that required anesthesia.

Old widows and widowers are familiar with words like “ medicab”