Is 70 The new 50?

Hope you had a very happy day Danni with some champagne involved ( and cake.)??
70 is a bit of a milestone, isn’t it?
Mr L certainly thought so when he was 70. He wanted fireworks and a wild party ( but got neither!)
Yes, I do think 70 is less of an old age badge than it was previously, but 50 is pushing it, the new 60 maybe.

I agree with many of the postings here. At my walking netball group yesterday we had 2 new members who were worried about keeping up as they 'are getting on a bit'. After chatting we discovered they are our 'babies' as they are in their mid 50s.
I think our generation is working harder at keeping independent, engaged and mobile and the NHS is doing a fantastic job for us.

Looking at photos of my late MiL in her 40s and 50s I see an old woman. It’s a combination of the hair style, the bad dye job, the clothes, the weight gain and the miserable expression.

Not everybody of that generation was old at 50 but many were - and felt that way.

Perhaps it’s all about your expectations?

DanniRae. I also thought this was a light hearted thread. We need some 'happy ones' ???

Oh dear, I think the comment that 70 is the new 50 was meant to be light hearted?
Us 70 year olds were supposed to be amused and a little bit comforted by it (I was any way), But come on, we all know, in reality, that we are 20 years away from 50. Lighten up folks, for goodness sake!!

I agree Jane. My parents lived through two world wars, and my Dad served in the army throughout the second one. They had five of us to bring up and worked very hard all their lives. At 70, they were weary but retired and enjoyed a long and happy retirement, finally dying at 93. There is no comparison to how me and my DH are at 74 and 75.

Their lives were very different to ours and no doubt our lives will be very different to our own offspring's.

I think it's fatuous to say 70 is the new 50. No it isn't - it's still 70 but different to 70 in days gone by.

This is a very timely thread, we have friends from Scotland staying with us who arrived today. The husband of the couple had a 70th birthday a couple of days ago. I made him a birthday cake with a 7 and 0 candles and piped the comment underneath "it's the new 50!" and then I discover this thread on GN

When I was 50 I still had 12 years’ fulltime work ahead of me, DCs financially dependent and hardly any free time to spend with friends and family.
Today’s 50 year olds are probably encumbered with much bigger mortgages than we ever had, are having to support their DCs to a greater extent than we did, and save more for their private pensions if they don’t want to totally rely on the State Pension.
So no, 70 isn’t the new 50.
And I don’t think it behoves us to congratulate ourselves on how active and trendy we are compared to our parents’ generation. They were products of their time, just as we are of ours.

No doubt our children will say the same sort of thing about us in due course, as they take trekking on the moon as a matter of course.
Life was far more circumscribed when our parents were in their 50s - leisure air travel in its comparative infancy, much labour-saving household equipment ditto. These are some of the things that have kept us young. Also many medical conditions were have become less debilitating.

It certainly isn’t for me. I was perfectly normal, energetic and active when I was 50. Judging by photos I still looked like a girl. By 70 most of my mobility had almost gone. I still looked OK, but I think,now I’m 78 I look tired and too thin.

The way I feel in this heatwave it’s the new 90

Thank you GrannyGravy - much appreciated!!

I hope so as I will be 70 next year

Whew Thank you all for that!
I'm in the last year of my fifties and getting the sinking feeling in my stomach.

I am very lucky to have a very close friend who has become my Role model.
71 this month and my inspiration.

I'm over 70 and definitely think we are more able and lead much more active and interesting lives than our parents. I think the three score years and ten idea is outdated now.
I realise this doesn't apply to everyone but for a lot of us we are grateful for the good life we can have now.

The big advantage of being 70 rather than 50 is that you're not looking at that seemingly never ending run up to retirement.

Yes, I think so. At 70 my parents had fully embraced being and looking "old"- my mother had about 6 pinafore dresses which she wore constantly and wouldn't try anything else. They had their settled routine and never did anything different.

When I compare their lives with mine, there is no comparison - I'll be 70 soon and I still lead a very active and varied life, and I wear jeans and fashionable clothes to keep feeling youthful . I'm not giving in to old age quite yet !

I think it is for lots of us but, unfortunately, not all are lucky enough to be in good health. My friend is 69 on Thursday and has to use a walking frame and is doubly incontinent. I am exactly 6 months older with slight hypertension and a few allergies. It's the luck of the draw....and possibly down to your genes.

Belated happy birthday DanniRae ???

I certainly hope so as I was 70 yesterday!!

I REALLY hope so, as I am closer to 70 than 50!!!!

I believe that this generation of oldies are far more adventurous and dare I say 'with it' than previous generations. My Grans were wonderful kind ladies, but definitely 'twin sets and pearls'. Wouldn't have caught them on a beach in swimwear in their 60's!!!. When holidaying abroad during term time, I guess the average age of fellow holiday makers to be 68/70.

I also think that retailers are making a huge mistake not catering for the so called 'grey pound'. As has been said on other threads, we like to keep ourselves smart and fashionable and the likes of M & S have just missed the boat.

Myself and many of my friends are often found in what are classed as teenage clothes shops, Top Shop, Gap, Oasis etc, for separates (Top Shops stretchy jeans come in lots of colours and are high waisted).

As the saying goes there is life in this old dog yet!!!!!!

Quite frankly on looking around I rather think it may well be so,how things have changed in a multitude of ways since our parents were approaching their 70`s.......in fact people today bear no resemblance,whilst are altogether in better health,many still working,holidays and all manner of leisure is very much enjoyed.
With ample better foods, medicines and advances in all forms of surgery, health is better.
Technology has changed the face of the older folk too so that they are constantly updated,kept in touch with the worldly happenings every minute..... if they so desire.....life is a totally different "ball game" it would seem.

Do you as the OP think so and what are your reasons for asking.............and perhaps,thinking this??