My current GF (I'm in my late 30s, she early 30s) wants children. She changed from "I don't care if I don't" to "I definitely need at least one.
So that's an impossible thing to compromise on.
And I won't. So I'll leave her to figure it out for herself. I'd much rather be alone than in a relationship if it means getting an innocent child involved with a father that doesn't want it.
"But you'll change your mind once you have one!" is a saying I often hear. Yeah, Stockholm Syndrome is what it's called. You have no choice but to say you like it. Fake it 'til you make it.
I've had colleagues and friends admit to me that they regret having children. They would have preferred to save tens of thousands of euros more, travel the world, treat themselves to gadgets and expensive meals, have all the time in the world to do whatever they liked. All the time to read books, play games, go on dates, meet people, or just work, or just do nothing at all.
With children, you're suddenly a parent. Your house is child-safe, your car is child-safe, the people you deal with most are also parents.
Or, how a friend of mine said: "I got a 20-something babysitter, cutest girl I've ever seen. I'm 41. I'd do her. My wife wouldn't approve, of course. But the girl tells me she isn't going to get children, because she sees how little time parents have. And god damnit, she's so right."
If he got to turn back time he would not have his 3 children. And that's not all: he would not stay with his wife, a marriage of 20 years. They coexist "for the children" as they so often do. But in truth it's because he isn't looking forward to paying her alimony and child support.
Right now, he's miserable with 1 child-safe car and 1 car he likes in a house that's too big.
And look at the divorce rates out there. Even if you look at only the first-time divorcees, it seems most marriages fail. I am not looking forward to anchoring myself down by adding a child into the mix.
I'll be single. And if I do turn out to be miserable, I'll just off myself without leaving a dependent family behind.