Single in Your 30s: Honest writing about being single: friends, fatigue, breakups, and wanting someone without settling.
Wanting a person and having a full life are not opposites.
Pick up where you left offWanting a personHow do you set boundaries without pushing someone away?Say it early, keep it short, and frame it as information about you, paired with what you do want. A boundary said warmly gives the right person a way to meet you, and how someone responds tells you more than silence ever could.Up next
See all- Wanting a personDo you want a partner, or do you want the pressure to stop?
- Post-breakup lonelinessShould I take them back after they cheated?
- Wanting a personHow do I trust someone new after being lied to?
Wanting a personHow do you want a partner without settling out of fear?- FatigueWhy does dating feel so exhausting right now?
Topics
By the numbers
47%
of adults under 50 without children say they are unlikely to ever have them, up from 37% in 2018.
Pew Research Center, 2024. U.S. adults, 2023 survey.
Half
of single U.S. adults are not looking for a relationship or dates right now.
Pew Research Center, 2020. U.S. adults, 2019 survey.
1 in 3
unmarried adults ages 22 to 35 are actively dating.
Wheatley Institute and Institute for Family Studies, 2026. 5,275 unmarried U.S. adults ages 22 to 35.
86%
of unmarried adults ages 22 to 35 expect to marry someday.
Wheatley Institute and Institute for Family Studies, 2026. 5,275 unmarried U.S. adults ages 22 to 35.
Worth reading elsewhere
See allAmerican Psychological Association (Speaking of Psychology)
Living a happy single life, with Geoff MacDonald, PhD (opens apa.org)A psychologist who studies singlehood explains what separates satisfied singles from unhappy ones.
Greater Good Science Center, UC Berkeley
Eight Ways to Ease the Pain of Loneliness (opens greatergood.berkeley.edu)Practical, research-informed things to do when the quiet after a breakup gets heavy.
NPR (Life Kit)
There's pressure to be partnered. Here's how to enjoy single life (opens npr.org)Holds both truths at once: you can want a partner and still build a life you like right now.
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