With my partner the age gap is quite extreme, almost from different generations as I am 42 and she is 27. Plus she makes about twice as much as me. Neither of us have ever owned a property before, but I think by 2024 and the impending recession + housing crash, we are finally nearing a place to buy something.
I will likely finally sell off the majority of my Magic the Gathering collection to collect the money for a down payment, but the twist is we are looking to move to a new country to get away from the craziness that has become the United States govt. I'm pushing for Portugal, but it looks like Costa Rica is well in the lead. I would be just fine in a tropical condo near the beach. Hopefully we can make this dream a reality!
That is quite a difference in age gap - does it cause any issues at times? I don't know much about Costa Rica, but Portugal would be pretty decent in my opinion too - will be heading there for a work trip in a couple weeks to see it for the first time :)
I reckon you are timing the market about right with the house - end of 23 through the start of 24 looks like the buy window.
The age gap is really only felt when we talk about the TV and movies we enjoyed in our youth. I yearn for the old days in the mid-90s before cell phones and the internet was much of a thing and the representation and plot of movies were much different than they are today: Empire Records, Seven, Good Will Hunting, Mallrats and Go are some of my favorite movies. Now everyday I find my DMs filled with 2 dozen TikToks from my partner, as well as a Snapchst streak thq5 has lasted for the better part of 2.5 years (we've only missed 2 days) and this is how she communicates with me on a daily basis.
I have spent the last 20 years living life as a 25 year old so we share some very common passions, namely staying out late at the club all night and experimenting with psychedelics. And both of us are committed to not having children and exploring an open relationship, so in these ways it is probably more fitting I have been able to find someone younger who falls in line with some more values of these younger generations. Right on the cusp btwn Gen X and millennial, I never felt like I fit in with the people and values of my generation, so I feel very lucky and blessed to have found a younger person to accept me for who I am.