The question that never gets old.

Age difference. Lets see, humans actually are built to start mating halfway through puberty, but even given the societal rules in place, I find anywhere below the age of 21 a bit hard to date, due to the lack of mental maturity. As for older, I've always had a harder time going after women in an older age category unless they're like 1-3 years older or something. I'm 30 as of St Pattrick's Day, btw.

I do not think it matters if they are happy with themselves. At the age of 15, I had to earn my own money, find a flat, etc. I was very mature for my age and then I preferred older women, but all this changes with age. At present I would feel badly with a much younger or older woman. I think that I would agree to a maximum difference of 8 years, but I would prefer a much smaller difference.