Any childfree folks here?

[Anonymous]

Yes, I realize the name of this forum, but many of the topics apply to those without children.

[Anonymous]

Are you child free and over 50? Start with your experience.

My sibling and spouse are probably giving up their dream of having kids after a few years of infertility. Would be nice to hear of others' experiences - growing older without kids and where they may be in 10+ years.

[Anonymous]

My husband and I are childfree by choice, but we're in our 30's.

[Anonymous]

No, but I wish I were! (Semi-kidding)

[Anonymous]

yes, 48 yrs old and husband is 43. We married late and I never had an overwhelming urge to have children. Now its too late, I am in menopause.

[Anonymous]

Yes.

(fun thread!)

[Anonymous]

Yup, childfree by choice. Just turned 50.

Also likely to become a widow within the next year or so.

Needless to say, that puts a different spin on how I envision my future. I don't regret not having children (they shouldn't be birthed just to take care of mom in her old age), but with my parents also gone and my one sibling not especially a close one, I'm going to be a whole lot more alone than I ever banked on this "young."

That said, our childfree life was always a very happy one, exactly the kind of life that makes people with kids whine about how "sure, you can do all of that stuff if you don't have kids."

[Anonymous]

52 and no kids of my own. First wife said she wanted them before we married, then changed her mind. She's still childless. Second wife had two HS girls, now adults. My sister and BIL are older and childless. Makes our mother wonder what she did to us that neither of us had kids. Many have said I would have been a good father. On the plus side, I'll be able to retire early - I've never bought an X-box, soccer cleat, baseball glove, prom dress, etc.

[Anonymous]

We're both 48 with no kids. Growing up, I never thought for a minute that I wouldn't have kids. But, I was busy growing a company and DW never really wanted to be a mom. And, here we are.

On the flip side, were having a great time exploring the world together (we visited eight countries last year) which wouldn't be possible or, at least easy, with kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Are you child free and over 50? Start with your experience.

My sibling and spouse are probably giving up their dream of having kids after a few years of infertility. Would be nice to hear of others' experiences - growing older without kids and where they may be in 10+ years.

OP here: turning 40 next year, DH is 41. Fairly confident we'll remain childfree although I've entertained the thought of fostering if/when we reach our financial goals. We have a hard time meeting childfree folks in the area. It seems like any and all friends we make seem to eventually decide to "start a family" (as if husband and wife are not family), and get sucked into the parenting world of breastfeeding, kids' birthday parties, activities, and all the things associated with raising children. Neither DH nor I have any interest in that lifestyle and have actively decided to do the complete opposite. . . we throw ourselves into our careers and hobbies such as working out, running races, learning to cook, different languages, and travel to the extent we can afford it.

If you're CF, where do you meet other CF friends?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are you child free and over 50? Start with your experience.

My sibling and spouse are probably giving up their dream of having kids after a few years of infertility. Would be nice to hear of others' experiences - growing older without kids and where they may be in 10+ years.

OP here: turning 40 next year, DH is 41. Fairly confident we'll remain childfree although I've entertained the thought of fostering if/when we reach our financial goals. We have a hard time meeting childfree folks in the area. It seems like any and all friends we make seem to eventually decide to "start a family" (as if husband and wife are not family), and get sucked into the parenting world of breastfeeding, kids' birthday parties, activities, and all the things associated with raising children. Neither DH nor I have any interest in that lifestyle and have actively decided to do the complete opposite. . . we throw ourselves into our careers and hobbies such as working out, running races, learning to cook, different languages, and travel to the extent we can afford it.

If you're CF, where do you meet other CF friends?

Well, for starters not on DCUM. Work. The neighborhood. Meetup groups. Church.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are you child free and over 50? Start with your experience.

My sibling and spouse are probably giving up their dream of having kids after a few years of infertility. Would be nice to hear of others' experiences - growing older without kids and where they may be in 10+ years.

OP here: turning 40 next year, DH is 41. Fairly confident we'll remain childfree although I've entertained the thought of fostering if/when we reach our financial goals. We have a hard time meeting childfree folks in the area. It seems like any and all friends we make seem to eventually decide to "start a family" (as if husband and wife are not family), and get sucked into the parenting world of breastfeeding, kids' birthday parties, activities, and all the things associated with raising children. Neither DH nor I have any interest in that lifestyle and have actively decided to do the complete opposite. . . we throw ourselves into our careers and hobbies such as working out, running races, learning to cook, different languages, and travel to the extent we can afford it.

If you're CF, where do you meet other CF friends?

Well, for starters not on DCUM. Work. The neighborhood. Meetup groups. Church.

We are 42 and childfree. Almost all of our social friends are childfree, and we met them in many different ways. Honestly, I'm not a big fan of kids (found this forum while looking for information on a particular neighborhood). We probably give off a vibe.

[Anonymous]

Childfree due to inferility, not by choice. We are in our early 50s and still looking for friends since our recent move to the DC area. We assumed we would have kids one way or another until quite recently, but the cost and stress of living here have pretty much convinced us to make peace with being childfree.

I started using DCUM when we still had hope of having or maybe adopting a child. On the plus side, being childfree, we could decide on a house we liked that was reasonably priced when we moved to the DC metro and not worry so much about schools.

[Anonymous]

Yes, I'm 45 and DH is 51.
Sometimes I feel I've missed out on the most fundamental part of the human experience. But usually I'm pretty happy.

[Anonymous]

Yes. I'm 53 and a widow. I have a lot of childfree friends, most of whom I met at work. My field doesn't breed much for some reason.