Speaking as an above average looking person (or so I’m told), I’ve found that here in my 30s, physical attraction has taken a major back seat to the personality factor. Maybe I’m in the minority on this one, but I don’t really think of people as attractive or not any more based on facial features or anything else that we don’t have control over with regard to our bodies. What matters is physical fitness and whether we can have a mutually interesting conversation.

This somewhat overstates the case, but it does indeed make a huge difference. For myself (also rather unattractive), I wish someone had sat down with me early on and explained these rather awful facts of life.

It might seem courteous and kinder to pretend that this isn't going on, but living in ignorance has significant costs of its own.

Now that I'm older, I'd definitely advise figuring out where you are on the scale and dating down, not up. If you're with someone significantly more attractive, you're paying in other ways--make sure you know what they are.