"Intelligent, kind and at least over thirty." That is my girlfriend's recipe for her dream guy-and she's not alone. I've noticed recently that for many women like her, in their mid-twenties, age has become an important factor in finding a mate. Apparently, guys younger than twenty-four are a writeoff because of their lack of experience and non-committal ways. My female peers want a man, thanks, and it appears that the relationship-ready guy is thirty at the very least. I'd say that hard-and-fast rules equating age and maturity should be regarded warily. Yes, I know some girls in their early twenties who are in fantastically supportive relationships with guys over thirty, but I also know guys over thirty who haven't figured out that watching skateboarding videos with a woman does not a "date night" make.

In other words, it's all circumstantial. My lovely cousin just ...