[jyl]

My 40th was 3 yrs ago.

Based on just 3 yrs or being over 40, I'd say that as long as you stay in good physical shape and you are well-established from a career and financial standpoint, the 40s seem to be fine. I don't see that it is "better" than the 30s, but its not "worse". Your mental and physical abilities aren't greatly different from the 30s, give or take a little hair and a few pounds.

One negative is that we do live in a youth culture and you can't avoid references to 40 as being "old". TV characters are always moping about being over 30, etc. So, you ignore it.

Another negative is that if you are making a change of direction - starting a new career for example - it is tougher. That's the situation I've been in. But hopefully you are tougher and wiser too, so it can work out fine.

My comments are only for men. For women, I'm not sure.

P.S. Remember that James Bond was 35 y/o in the first Ian Fleming novel, "Casino Royale", and 45 in the last, "The Man With The Golden Gun". And he seemed to be doing alright. So I figure you can hope to keep your Double-0 license at least into your late 40s.