I guess I'm kind of an odd one out in that I'm a woman who wouldn't mind dating or marrying someone younger. At least I think... It would all depend on the person and circumstances.
I'm an Asian gal who grew up in an all-white town and was constantly hit on by much older men. This has pretty much continued throughout my life, and I never once got an inkling that they were concerned at all about me. I'm certainly NOT saying that all older men are like this. But for me, the ones who tried to talk to me wanted what they saw would be a young, submissive, exotic trophy to show off to their friends and take care of their every whim and need throughout the rest of their old age.
Not once did they ever ask about my own dreams, ambitions, or needs. My first question to an older man who was interested in me would be, "How do you plan to make sure your younger widow would be taken care of after God calls you home?" Now I'm certainly NOT saying in anyway that it's about money or materialism. Rather, I'm looking at motivation. In my view, someone who is concerned about their spouse both in life and after their death is heavenly-minded; someone who hasn't even thought about that is most likely only looking for what they can get out of the relationship while they can and are alive.
And a funny thing has happened. The years have passed by in a blink of an eye. And now I find it's younger men (usually around 15 years younger) who try to talk to me, which is a bit startling. Several years ago, one told me, "It's not too late, you know. We could still get married and have a family..." And I will forever be grateful to him for giving me that little glimpse of hope, even though it didn't work out.
But now I'm the one who thinks about things such as, If I met a man with a family (which is most likely at my stage in life,) would I be able to contribute to taking care of their needs? If something happened to me, would I have something to leave to them to help out? My focus has shifted from worrying about what someone is trying to get from me to worrying about if I have something of any substance to give or leave to someone else.
But I've also had a few dates with younger guys who were on the fence or didn't want to have kids, were very career-minded, and were looking for someone grounded and more mature. It was interesting to get a flicker of what life might look like as a childless but ministry-focused couple.
I think the most important thing to me now aside from faith is life experience, and how they handle responsibility or problems, and that can come in many forms at a variety of ages. Some of the guys I've met who were 15 years younger were more responsible than guys I met who were 10 years older. And of course, sometimes it's vice versa -- it all depends on the individual.
In the end, I know it's all in God's hands, and I pray constantly that He will not only let me know what His specific instructions are for my life, but that He would also give me the strength to actually follow through with them.