I didn't have a job until age 25, so I had all the time in the world to explore and learn.
Unlike my brother. He's 33 now, hasn't had a single relationship that I'm aware of, always busy working. Clearly aiming at a transactional relationship with someone young enough to be fertile by the time he wants to work less.
I wouldn't just go about the amount of time that passed. Between age 17 and 24 I talked to hundreds of people. Settling down doesn't seem unusual to me.
Once again.. fertility.. my wife's pregnant now at age 29, the risk of miscarriage after age 30 becomes quite a lot higher.
I think it's our current society that settles down too late in life. That's why the labour force is shrinking. Too many people on retirement who never had kids. (Belgium)
On a subject like this, for people that are struggling to get a relationship. The only advice I should give is to talk to a lot of people. Don't be a simp (don't act fake), use your intuition. Trial and error. Break hearts, get your heart broken. Find someone that you click with, it feels like biking on asphalt. Not on a rocky road.
The smell thing. That's because you're bonded. Oxytocin probably is the reason for that. Hormones are a hell of a drug.
Yeah, all someone has to do is to be interesting.
Depends on the country. Where I live it's beneficial to start your own company once your income reaches 10k euros a month. Being an employee here is for the sake of security. Unemployment benefits, difficulty to be fired. Parent leave. Shocks during an economic crisis are absorbed by the company.
There's pros and cons to each. But if you are handling 5 SME's. Working productively all the time. From your own home. Then I'm guessing it can be beneficial for yourself to start your own company.
With such a job, you'll likely have a safety buffer in your finances for the unpaid period. No clue why there'd be an unpaid period though, you already have your connections.
Once again.. easier here in Belgium. Taxes on labour are quite high, becoming an independent can cost the company less money while putting more money on the independent's bank account.
A lot of people here complaining about the taxes, but unwilling to give up the security of employment