I too can’t stand a female who smokes, drinks, does drugs, and is violent. [-(
Edit: Ugh, how many times did I hit enter.
Dating While Under 25:
Requirement 1: Hot
Requirement 2: See Requirement 1
I matured a bit and made a list based on lots of little things, mainly the things that annoyed me when dating.
Dealbreakers:
- Smokers
- Drugs
- Jealous
- Unfaithful
- No college degree
- Belly
- Slob
- Taller than about 5’8" (I was only 5’11")
- Non-athletic
- Born-again
- Lazy
Even with this list it only cut the dating pool to about 1/3.
^^^Wasn’t what I was looking for when I was under 25 
As a 6’ tall woman about to re-enter the dating pool, Magnetron’s list is profoundly depressing! It makes me feel like I’m in 7th grade again! (Maybe I’m really only 5’11-3/4").
Kind and possessing good character.
Don’t you know some successful, interesting, intelligent people w/o college degrees? I sure do. Not to pick on your list, just curious.
And half joking, but no super models for you, huh?
My successful, interesting, brilliant, sexy husband did not graduate from college–because he started his own company instead. However, he is bald.
Gee magnetron, no college degree? You broke my heart!
@doschicos Nope, never was attracted the fashion model build; I’m thin and was always self-conscious of it. My wife did discus and shot in HS, top ten in state at 5’4". We have no trouble moving furniture in my house.
The college degree thing really was on my list but I broke that for one exceptional woman I dated, a shoe store regional manager, but I was tired of the hard-drinking cocktail waitress types who did not understand basic literature references. It was more of a quick-sort than a deal-breaker. It wouldn’t be on the list at all these days.
Plenty of guys for you nottelling, S1 loves tall women and kept a poster of the volleyball team in his room. It may be that I was a late-bloomer and, for much of my formative life, tall people picked on me.
Maybe “matured” was the wrong word.
I probably wouldnt have picked anybody with no college degree either. I mean there’s plenty of fish in the ocean, why pick one without degree. I didn’t care for more advance degree but at least an undergraduate degree.
fell in love with him because he was honest, stubborn, reliable, cute, a problem solver, an optomist. Stayed in love with him because it turned out he was also compassionate, smart, creative, determined, calm, funny, philanthropic and cute even when he lost his hair and his joints froze up…
Could never stand guys who were mean, drank, or partied.
I don’t think anybody likes guy like that.
Right, I don’t think too many people start out in life with the goal of marrying a mean drunk.
I guess when I was in my 20s and looking to meet someone, I thought they had to be at least as smart as I was, be well-educated (by whatever route), have a good sense of humor, have political views at least generally similar to mine, not be too into taking drugs, and be Jewish (or at least willing to raise a child as Jewish).
Now that the last is no longer an issue, I really wouldn’t care too much what religion the person was. No anti-Semites, though! Or homophobes, especially given my son. And being accepting of trans people would obviously be a plus, since I would want to disclose my history at some point, even if not immediately. This is all academic, given that I haven’t been on a date since 1987!
Just had this discussion with a male friend of mine. We noted it would have been interesting to have made a list in our early 20s and another list now and have the opportunity to compare them. Not sure I gave much thought to what I was looking for in a relationship at 20 beyond…good looking. But I sure would give thought to it now and looks wouldnt be a factor. Beyond someone well groomed. I know that handy and a sense of humor would factor in along with honest and reliable. So how different would your early vs now list differ?
When I was very young, all I cared about in a guy was that he didn’t drink. I was not attractive enough to be able to pick and choose, but even with my limited prospects, I would never have chose a guy who drank. I come from a family of alcoholics, and I have seen what alcohol can do. I didn’t want to live through the same hell as an adult that I had lived through as a child.
I learned from experience that there can be plenty of problems in relationships that have nothing to do with alcohol. But at 17 – which is how old I was when I started to date the man I eventually married – I didn’t understand that.
For some people, the appearance of their significant other will always matter since it represents a reflection of themselves.
So their list wouldn’t have changed much from their younger self.
A regional trend I’ve noticed is the increasingly need to groom oneself with mani/pedi, eyebrow sculpting, hair removal, teeth whitening, hair treatments, expensive lotions and potion and this is among the dudes and gals who can ill afford these treatments out of their paltry salaries so depend on their parents giving them an allowance to cover financial shortages.
Tend to steer clear of people who are high maintenance as described above as well as emotionally high maintenance.
I may be an incurable romantic, but I think you fall in love with a person, not a list of characteristics. So some of these “dealbreakers” will fly out the window if you decide that somebody is “the one.”
That’s true, Hunt, but with the rise of online dating, the searches can be set to screen out, say, all the 50-year-old 6’ tall women. 
So the theoretically undesirable qualities do, in fact, become deal breakers, if they are objective criteria.
I haven’t tried online dating yet; not sure I want to.
What matters most to me is a sense of humor that clicks with mine. Both H and I cite that as the most important thing that has kept our marriage happy.