I belong to two groups where most members are quite a bit older than I am. I feel I learn a lot from them, such as what issues will be important when I am older, the ins and outs of nursing homes, senior travel, casinos, discontinuing routine screenings (mammograms and colonoscopies), joint replacements, life in our city 50 years ago, etc. I’ve helped some of them with computer type things, such as listing things on craigslist/ebay. What have you learned from your older friends?
No, but I have friends who are 20 years younger than I am. I get to be one of their “older” friends.
I do have friends who are about 12 years older than I, but they’re really old!!
Are you joking about the “really old”, VeryHappy? Or are you saying age is a state of mind?
Now you’re making me think I need some younger friends;)
I have a number of IRL friends who are now in their late 60s. (I’m 54.) I suspect that at some level, I was looking for mentors/older sisters/quasi-mother figures. These women are some of my closest friends. I didn’t have a lot of same-age peer friends when I was growing up and was somewhat of a social misfit (we moved constantly, I was an outlier on several levels, etc.). Online communities have really been a lifeline for me and enabled me to develop more relationships (including some that are now IRL) than I’ve ever had.
My “older” friends have been willing and unwitting mentors about careers and relationships, and shown me the need to live my own life, on my own terms, NOW. Their fearlessness, born of wisdom and experience, is an inspiration.
I have always had friends spanning all generations since I have been involved in competitive running for almost 40 years. Now- there aren’t so many 20 years older since that would make them 83, but in the past I certainly have had friends in their 60s when I was in my 40s. I also have older friends from church. I really value friends of all ages and think there is a lot to be learned. I also find that being the “older” friend (I have many friends 20 or more years younger than I am) helps keep me “current”.
My H & I have had two very dear friends for many years who are really almost our parents ages. The husband was my H’s supervisor many, many years ago and formed a friendship almost immediately. Then he got to know his wife and introduced me to them. We were young with babies and their children were almost our ages. We still keep in touch with them even though we moved once and they’ve moved all over the country.
My closest girlfriend is exactly my age but our close friend group averages 5-8 years younger than us to about the same 5-8 years older than us too.
I have a bunch of on line friends who are 5 to 10 years older than me. It’s all about being a grandparent now, which is many years in the future for me I think. I have a good friend and neighbor who is five years older than me but her husband is in his late 70s. He does not seem nearly as old as he is. Most of my close friends come from my PTA days and are pretty close in age.
Do my older siblings count? My brother is 24 years older than me, my sister 22 years older … (blended family). My three closest friends these days are 77, 61 (and I’ve known her since we were in tenth grade together), and 44.
I am about to be 60 and have friends in their 80s and 90s. I also have friends for whom I’m the 20 years older friend.
Hanging out with older women is a treat for me because they have such great stories. One of my 90 year old buddies looks like Miss Prim & Proper. She is anything but. Dorthy Parker has nothing on my friend. Unlike a lot of older women I hang out with, she had no amazing career and isn’t well known, so if someone isn’t paying attention and seeking her out, they are missing quite an experience. I am thinking I really need to write down some of her more startling bon mots.
The sad thing about having older friends is losing them. When I first moved to the country, my 80something year old neighbor took me around to hang out with all her friends and it was great fun. But now almost all of them are gone. I miss them so much, but am happy to have had the time with them I had. I learned so much about the community that would never otherwise have been possible.
I have always had a lot of friends 10 years older, and now this places them in their 70s! Funny how that used to seem so far away. My oldest close friend is now in a nursing home permanently, and he is maybe 15 years older. However my work days are often spent conversing with members of the WW2 generation, and oh, am I going to miss them. In many cases, polite, disciplined folk, who have worked hard for their communities and families, with gorgeous handwriting that I can only envy.
I have a couple of older friends who are in their mid-60s, but I don’t think of them as being “old,” because I’m not all that far behind them. I also have a number of friends who are 15-20 years younger than I am. I assume they think of me as ancient, but I prefer to think of them as my slightly younger peers, even if they remember little or nothing that happened before 1975 or 1980!
Well, H and his buddies are 15+ years older than me, so we have quite a few friends that are of that age range. My folks and their friends are about 30 years older. I have friends who are my age and some that are just launching their careers and starting their families. It’s nice to have a broad range, but different issues pop up among different age-range friends and relatives. My H & his buddies are talking about retirement and older kids and grandkids (for those that have those), while the younger ones are talking about all the things that they have to fit into their budget and time. The range of relationships adds to the richness of lilfe.
Online friends run an even wider gamut, and honestly I have no idea about the age of some of them.
We have some friends who are 15-25 years older than us. They worked in DH’s office many years ago and stayed friends after they moved on. The ones who are 15 years older provided baby sitters for our kids; the one who’s 25 years older is like a 2nd mom to DH. It’s been difficult watching the older one as she ages. She used to be very active and vibrant; not so much anymore.
I belong to a couple of book groups and an aerobics class where I am with women as old as my mother (upper 70’s and even 80’s). I will talk about my daughter’s experiences which they compare to their grandchildren.
My husband and I often comment when at events that we are the youngest by 25 years (and if we bring our daughter she is really the youngest). We enjoy things related to history and what would be considered old fashioned theater (noel coward and gilbert & sullivan).
One of my closest friends at my university is the same age as my parents (32 years older than me), and I’m the same age as her youngest kid.
Yes. My husband and I have a lot of friends who are older than us. More than a few are 20 plus years older than us. We retired very early and work out at a local fitness center. Most of the people who work out at the same time as us are also retired, just older. They are active and travel and have professional backgrounds. We may live in a large suburb, but it has a strong sense of community to it.
So I guess to answer the OP’s question, I’ve learned how important it is to stay in shape. It really makes a difference in one’s quality of life. We often talk about sports and share our life experiences. It’s wonderful! 
Dear friend is 85 and I’m more than 20 years younger. She lives on her own, spends time in painting, writing and history/political issues classes. Doesn’t know a thing about nursing homes, casinos; hasn’t had a hip replacement and we don’t talk about medical issues (or the weather,any more than everyone here does.) She doesn’t exercise. Does know how to use computer. Her kids live ten hours away.
I’m part of a hiking group. Other than me and one other, they’re all over 75, hike every week they can, with rare exceptions for pouring rain or heavy snow. I’m one of the slower folks, don’t go as often. My closest local friend is 15 years older, hasn’t slowed down for anything.
I’ve just learned how nice it is not to look so hard at age, to look more at the shared interests.
On the flip side, I’m 50 and one of my closest friends is 19. We met through Big Brother Big Sister. He’s a college freshman this year and the reason I found this site