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Comment by RonSkufca | Hacker News Reader

I am 53 and I have 2 teenage children and work with mostly Millennials and Gen Z, and I can honestly say I prefer hanging out with people younger than me. I have dinner/drinks with various friend groups consisting of 50-60 yr olds and all they seem to do is complain about the following: Health, Politics, Younger People. And the conversation inevitably turns to telling stories of the glory days. When when I am with younger people, I see there is still hope, ambition and energy. I know it’s all part of the aging process but many of these older friends are reluctant to leave their little domains and try anything new. I feel like a 35-year-old trapped in a 50 year old’s body.

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A lot of people over 40 are burdened - kids, soccer practice. My wife and I at 49/50 are empty nesters, I “retired her” at 44 she is pursuing her passion projects, I work remotely and we are always traveling, gone for extended periods.

We are also gym rats. We have friends that join on us our trips when they can. But no one in our cohort has the complete freedom of movement that we have.

The older retired people that have the freedom we have are too (small “c”) conservative and don’t have to deal with us and I am not about to use a filter when I go on vacation or hanging out.

We also have friends where one works remotely. But the other still has to be in an office. We kind of have to live our lives to our own music.

My parents are 80 and 82 and they are independent now. But I realize the day is going to come where we’re going to have to responsibilities for awhile.

I feel the opposite, hahah! I'm about that age, and I feel I relate less and less to people 10-20 years younger than me, and more and more to people 10-20 years older. To make a probably unfair and way-too-broad generalization: the Millennials I know (like the parents of my kid's friends at school) are kind of... aloof at best and self-absorbed at worst. When the kids play together, those parents never make an attempt to socialize or be pleasant. They're either buried in their phones or they just drop their kids off and skedaddle. The grandparents on the other hand are a blast to hang around with. Social, friendly, engaged, and interested. I feel I have a lot more in common with them, too.

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