Middle age is not what it used to be. For many young people, the hallmarks of a contented mid-life are likely to remain out of reach for longer than they did for previous generations – along with the stereotypical coping mechanisms of a mid-life crisis. At the same time, as life expectancy goes up and more people expect to live in good health for longer, the very idea of when the middle of a life arrives has shifted.
So, when are you officially middle aged? Gen Z writer Anjola Fashawe, 47-year-old Tammy Burns and health writer Lucy Gornall give their perspectives.
I’m 20, and as far as I’m concerned anyone over the age of 35 is old. I grew up thinking that you spend your twenties grinding towards milestones like a mortgage, a family and a career, and then eventually things get more comfortable. So it makes sense that your mid-thirties mark middle age: the stage where your responsibilities are hopefully organised and life is somewhat settled.
But looking 15 years ahead from now, that version of adulthood feels further out of reach. The rewards traditionally associated with middle age are already becoming harder to access.
Take that first marker of middle age, a mortgage, for instance. According to the English Housing Survey, the average age of a first-time buyer in the UK is now 34; in the mid-1990s, it was 29. As of 2025, nearly 30 per cent of adults aged 20 to 34 in the UK were living with their parents, according to ONS data, and the figure continues to rise.
