Life Advice
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Ask Amy: Married couple ponders parenthood
Dear Amy: My husband and I are in our mid-30’s. We’ve been together for 10 years. During the course of our marriage, we have traveled a lot and have had some wonderful adventures.
We’ve been talking about whether we should have children, and, true to our personalities, we’ve been doing a lot of research about what it is like to be ...Read more
Millennial Life: The Room Where ... What Happens, Exactly?
If there has been a recurring theme that has kept popping up for me in the last few weeks, it's this: We should probably get some adults in this room to get this worked out. And then it dawns on me: Oh, that's me. I'm the person who is going to have a hand in making some of these decisions.
It's similar to the feeling you get when you finally ...Read more
Is this 2023 dating trend here to stay in 2024 -- and is it effective?
It’s the start of the new year, so you probably know some friends or family members who are participating in “Dry January,” or taking a break from alcohol for the month. It’s understandable why the trend is popular: to recover from the (often boozy) holiday season and start 2024 on a healthy note, not to mention saving some money at the ...Read more
Single File: Postponing Undependence
Here are some common flimsy excuses for postponing one's undependence:
--Men don't like independence in women.
--I couldn't afford to be on my own.
--I'm only happy when a man is in love with me.
--I don't feel feminine when I'm not on a man's arm.
--People have told me that I'm not a whole/real person until I'm someone's wife.
--I feel ...Read more
Survey: Younger generations more likely to keep financial secrets from partners
Would you consider it cheating if your romantic partner hid a debt, a credit card or other financial secret from you? While some may not consider financial cheating as harmful as a physical affair, about 1 in 4 Americans in relationships believe otherwise — and it seems keeping financial secrets can be corrosive to romantic partnerships.
A ...Read more
Millennial Life: My Hands Are Not Gray but My Soul Feels the Color
At the beginning of the pandemic, my mom and I had a phrase we kept using: "It's just two weeks." At first, it was earnest, with a tinge of hope. Then it became progressively more sardonic, saying we're up for the next installment of just two more weeks. I suggested that we get matching tattoos at some point. She turned me down.
There was ...Read more
Single File: What, Me Marry?
Yes. You! It just might happen that you meet someone you can't get out of your mind, a wonderful one whose chemistry seems to mesh perfectly with yours. The mere thought of this person makes you grin with a happy secret between you and -- well, you. In other words, for the first time in a long time, you're floored. And private time spent with ...Read more
My brain hurts from deciphering these texts!
I recently got a text from a female client following a first date on a Friday night. According to her, the date went well: They got along, and it even ended with a kiss. The following day, around noon, she sent him a text thanking him for a wonderful evening. He replied by saying: “Hey, any time! I enjoyed it too. Looking forward to seeing ...Read more
At Pitch-A-Friend, people use PowerPoint to hype up friends to a live audience of eager singles
PHILADELPHIA -- On a Friday night in Philadelphia's Fishtown neighborhood, a crowd of people crammed into Meyers Brewing to hear Alyssa Klauder pitch her friend Rich D’Antonio to a room full of eager singles looking for dates off the apps.
“Are you looking for someone with an executive family Costco membership?” Klauder asked the ...Read more
On Being an Effective Elected Official
It was about 45 minutes before the first meeting of the day, a double matinee of first-time meetings on boards I had never been to before. I had just dropped off the kids at school and wanted to make a few calls from the new office line at City Hall. My morning coffee had gone right through me, but I knew my new badge could get me in the back ...Read more
Chicago man sues over 'Are We Dating the Same Guy' posts about him
A Chicago man is suing more than 50 people and companies over posts about him in an Are We Dating the Same Guy Facebook group.
It’s the latest legal battle for the online groups that were created under the guise of protecting women but have faced criticism for potential toxicity and cyberbullying.
In a complaint filed Monday in the District ...Read more
Single File: Singleness as Adventure
It's true that being single isn't all fun and dream dates; on-your-own-ness can feel downright lonely. (And my reminder that marrieds also have their down times doesn't always break the mood.) Single life may have become the majority lifestyle here in America, but that fact doesn't help when you're trudging to the corner coffee shop for Saturday...Read more
The right (no ambiguity, no pressure) way to ask someone out on a second date
You’ve done the hard part. You’ve started a conversation with someone on an online dating app or website, you planned a meet-up, and you’ve had a successful first date. What’s next? Another hard part (in case you haven’t caught on … dating can be difficult sometimes): asking someone out on a second date.
I recently shared a great ...Read more
Millennial Life: The Little Red Food Truck That Could
The food truck's chef was slow, their generator wailed, and the traffic sped by uncomfortably close. But their sopes were delicious. Seasoned meat, fresh fried masa base, and they weren't stingy with the queso fresco and crema.
My husband was incredulous that we had no real, identifiable street food culture when he moved roughly 50 miles up the...Read more
Tired of dating apps, Gen Z and millennials pay to gaze into strangers' eyes
PHILADELPHIA — The notion that Americans are lonely — very, very lonely, and anxious, and depressed, and therefore more at risk of heart disease, dementia, and stroke — has gained traction in recent years. It’s been called an “epidemic” and a “quiet catastrophe,” a particular problem for men and young people and adults and the ...Read more
Single File: Unboggling
DEAR SUSAN: This isn't a "tsunami of singleness" we're seeing, it's a wave of coupledom. The push to recognize domestic partnerships isn't a push to recognize singles, it's a push to recognize that being married isn't the only way to be coupled. Unmarried couples who form a lasting long-term commitment to one another should be recognized not as ...Read more
Questions to ask yourself when 'every' match isn't working out
People like to be in control — at their jobs, of their decisions, and in pretty much every area of life — but dating can sometimes feel like you’re on a wild roller coaster that you can’t get off. And like most (if not all) other things, we’re not in total control when it comes to dating. Instead, we can only control ourselves and our...Read more
Millennial Life: The Currency of Your Attention Is Worth a Resolution
The host of an NPR podcast explained how, as a kid, he was someone more eager to go to bed on New Year's Eve than wait for the fireworks. He wanted to get started on his resolution list for the new year. I felt very seen; I have memories like that, too. I always think of a list: I should stretch more. I would like to meditate more. Maybe I can ...Read more
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