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AIBU?

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Original poster

Asking what age do you consider to be old?

201 replies

Teadrinker11 · 21/03/2022 18:02

I was thinking about this and I don't consider 60s that old at all. Even 70s nowadays aren't that old imo. I think a lot of it is down to lifestyle but in general speaking, what age would you consider to be old?

OP posts:
Hathertonhariden · 21/03/2022 20:46

@georgarina

60
7 yrs before state retirement age??
MaryQueenOfSwots · 21/03/2022 20:48

I have noticed relatives suddenly ageing when they get past 70.

Calandor · 21/03/2022 20:52

Old I would say 70. Some people in their 60s May be old (depends how they act tbh). My dads 60 and he's just bought a motorbike and travels the country in an RV with his wife and dogs. He certainly isn't old.

borntobequiet · 21/03/2022 20:55

I’m 69 this year and yes, I’m old. I’m fitter and healthier than many younger people I know, but I feel the toll age has taken on my body. It’s unmistakeable. Though I still work part time and care regularly for my grandchildren, and though my dress and general appearance is that of someone twenty years younger, I’m old. Why deny it? We were all young once, and we all get old.

Calandor · 21/03/2022 20:56

@Cognoscenti

Oh I'm way out, I was going to say 29 as that's when I officially felt 'old'. 😳 A couple of years later and I still do, although in the grand scheme of things I do realise it isn't that old!
Don't be a muppet. I'm 27 and I'm certainly not going to be old in two years. I only started full time work in 2018! I'm still waiting to hit my prime ffs 😂
TristesseDurera · 21/03/2022 21:00

My grandpa lived in good health, living in his own flat, driving, shopping, etc. until he was 99 years old.

At that time he had a minor stroke and was no longer allowed to drive, and he just couldn't be arsed anymore.

He died 6 months later, without ever suffering from cancer, diabetes, heart problems, dementia, etc.

My other grandpa died in his 50s (long before I was born) having lost a limb to cancer. It really does vary hugely between individuals.

Having said that, I don't think many people are "old" at 70 these days. And the person who said "29" is obviously taking the piss.

Sushi7 · 21/03/2022 21:01

Old doesn’t just have to mean frail. It literally means you’re old. I would say late 60s ie retired pensioners.

JaceLancs · 21/03/2022 21:01

My first instant response was 75
Glad a few others agree with me

James44 · 21/03/2022 21:04

Health has a large part to play in how people act and react. For instance I was active in a physical solo sport similar to cycling until I became ill from an injury, seriously damaged limb. As I was recovering I had a string of minor infections. Had I been in my 30s it would have been easier to carry on. But I was 75, I aged 10 years from how I had been in a few months.
Suddenly I became older than my physical age.
No conclusions or sparks of wisdom only observations.

Look after yourselves.

Shostaklovhich · 21/03/2022 21:06

It really depends on the individual. My dm is 74 and not old, she’s still active and healthy and most importantly has a very positive attitude. My dd is 85 and he’s starting to get old now.

SecretSunflower · 21/03/2022 21:07

Over 30s.
After 30 I think physical decline starts.

I'm a good way into physical decline incidentally. :)

godmum56 · 21/03/2022 21:09

You are all saying old as though its a bad thing?

Rosesandthistles · 21/03/2022 21:10

70+ and in poor health or 75+ and healthy, elderly would be 80+.

Rosesandthistles · 21/03/2022 21:12

@SecretSunflower

Over 30s. After 30 I think physical decline starts.

I'm a good way into physical decline incidentally. :)

So most people are old for 50 years of their adult lives and only young for the first 12 years of adulthood? nah!
Violinist64 · 21/03/2022 21:16

@VerbenaGirl

I think about 78 now.

I can remember my Grandad, well into his 70s, complaining that they’d put him on a geriatric ward in hospital with all the old people - he was so young at heart and didn’t see himself as the same age as them at all Smile

My grandmother was shocked when she was put in a geriatric ward too. She was a mere ninety years old at the time!

I think a lot of our perspective of ageing has changed a lot in the last thirty or forty years. My grandparents’ generation were elderly at fifty and old by sixty. They made themselves old by the clothes they wore and their attitude to life. It was unusual for people of their generation to have their own teeth. I have a lovely photo of my parents’ wedding in 1963, which has both sets of grandparents on it. They all look very proud and smart (the ladies dressed in the style of the Queen Mother). I am now older than three of them were then and almost as old as the fourth. I think I look much younger than any of them.

Househogger · 21/03/2022 21:17

A lot of the replies are conflating health with age. Some people are fortunate enough to be mentally sharp and physically able at 80, others begin to experience age related health issues at 60. The word "old" isn't an insult. Anyone over 70 is old but that doesn't say anything about their attitude to life or their health.

LubaLuca · 21/03/2022 21:21

@Sushi7

Old doesn’t just have to mean frail. It literally means you’re old. I would say late 60s ie retired pensioners.
This is my thought on it as well. Saying people in their 80s aren't old because they're hearty and hale doesn't make sense - it's like saying a vintage car isn't old because it doesn't break down.
lightisnotwhite · 21/03/2022 21:27

My favourite aunt is 80 soon. She dresses really nicely (fashionable but the right side of trendy), nice hair and a bit of make up. Goes swimming in the sea everyday with a group of “ youngsters” in their 50’s.

You wouldn’t actually think she s more than early 60’s. So older but not old.

ClinkeyMonkey · 21/03/2022 21:28

About 80. Definitely NOT 54. Ahem ...!

Ohfgsnotagain · 21/03/2022 21:31

80+

But it does depend on the person.

musicviking1 · 21/03/2022 21:33

My mil is 74 and looks old, she's frail, can hardly walk has no teeth and is in poor health. However, 73 year old singer Lulu does not look or seem old!

Sushi7 · 21/03/2022 21:36

Average age of dying is around 83 so I’d definitely say late 60s/70 is old because you’re a pensioner at that age. I don’t understand why PP are saying mid 70s is young.

Blossomtoes · 21/03/2022 21:37

I’m 69 this year and yes, I’m old. I’m fitter and healthier than many younger people I know, but I feel the toll age has taken on my body. It’s unmistakeable

Me too. The day I went to climb onto a chair and my knees wouldn’t let me was a real low point! Oddly the next week I could manage it. I really feel like my age has caught up with me in the last year.

LetsGoDoDoDo · 21/03/2022 21:40

I'd agree with PPs that mid 75+ is old but I don't necessarily believe that means a person becomes frail. Its just a stage of life. As others have said, health, lifestyle and mindset impact how "old" a person may be perceived as.

Thewindwhispers · 21/03/2022 21:57

My mum’s health went rapidly downhill in her sixties as her bones just started to give up. But MIL can still climb mountains. Such a lottery.