Really hard for me to say. Probably from 55 on.

Altho I had an awful time turning 30,after that,from 30 ish to 45 was great!

If only we could turn back the clock

Ya know, that first year was not my best. There were all the diapers and smell and all that stuff. However, I don't remember a lot of it. So, I'll say the first couple of years would work for me.

Well my life has always been a bit of a roller coaster in the best and worst of years. But I would say I look back most fondly on the decade between 37 and 47. Full of adventure, fun and shenanigans. A new found freedom from ghosts of the past probably had something to do with it.

I am really enjoying my life currently despite the dark side of age related issues so it remains to be seen.

Age 22 - 25 were my favourite years.

College, birth of son, traveling with grandson, multi cruising trips, reaching 75 has made my life fun with lots of friends playing Mexican Train and enjoying weekly luncheons. Thanks for the thread.

I'm 33 now. Everything from 24 on has been great. Landed my current job,which I love, met SO,who I love love love, bought a nice home,and have been living exactly like I want. Before 24 was.....turbulent,bad boyfriend,badly paid job,low self esteem. The only thing that was better back then was my weight. Im working on changing that now. I hope it only gets better from here,but will be perfectly happy if the status quo remains undisturbed.

30s were really good because I felt I was old enough to come into my own, but nothing hurt yet. By the time I hit my 40s, things started to hurt.

Lifestyle-wise, though, I have to say I love being retired. It's the best.

I can't choose! Each had its joys and challenges. Looking back it seems I was always struggling with something. (sigh)

I have to say that I don't have a favorite.

That was why it was so hard for me to choose...eld. Every decade brought happiness but also every one brought very trying or hard times.

I'm in my 30's now and I like it better than my 20's for many reasons, though I want kids badly and my window of opportunity is rapidly decreasing. I imagine in 10 years my answer will vary greatly depending on that outcome.

25-35

I agree with eld6161, each period of time had its own set of joys offset by challenges.

I'm 45 now and would not trade a day since DD was born. She is the light of my life, even though the last 10-12 years have been the most challenging of my life- and those challenges have nothing to do with DD.

Right now - I'm loving my life. Every day is a gift and I enjoy myself completely.

I like how you summed things up. Yours does look like a life well lived.

As others have said, there have been rewarding times and difficult events over the years. Now that I'm retired and DS is launched on a successful life, I feel very contented. This morning we woke to find that we had a heavy dump of snow overnight and the snow continues to fall. I usually volunteer on Mondays, but I went back to bed and am having a leisurely day today.

Chisue, that was a lovely description.

Thirty to 40 for me. That's from when my first child was born, until my last child started school. I was a SAHM, so I treasured being able to spend those years at home, not missing out on any of those precious moments. I know that many young families today do not have the luxury of having a SAHparent, and am grateful we managed to make it work.

I think now, other than the loss of my Mom last August. But my marriage is good, my kids are launched and doing (fairly) well, I'm an expert at my job and nothing fazes me anymore, and I have enough money to do whatever I want to in life.

For me, 45-55 was great from a career standpoint, I was at the top of my career job wise and salary wise. Children were matured and less problematic. However--I think the years from 60-67 have been the most "fun". We are both retired now and have been able to travel the world. It's been great fun to explore the world at a leisurely pace for a month at a time. We are never in a hurry these days!

Our 40s were the most fun. We were 41 when DD went to university, our alma matter. She was close enough to home for weekend visits and we enjoyed football weekends with her. Our income was stable enough to pay for college out of current earnings and no need to get into college savings. My mother was still in her prime, so no worries there. An empty nest meant we had time to really get into outdoor activities, particularly whitewater kayaking and we still had the physical ability to go all out. We took some wonderful trips -- a kayaking trip to the French Alps, three 8 day wilderness whitewater trips down the Middle Fork of the Salmon River in Idaho, kayaking trips to Colorado and lots of long weekends to the Smokies. DH and I both went through the process and training to become certified whitewater kayak instructors and he also was a certified Swiftwater Rescue instructor. We both enjoyed volunteer teaching through our local club.

Although we had been skiing for years, when we were 41 we finally bought a ski condo in the resort town where we now live (as of last November) and upgraded to a second home here when we were 49 (and DD had graduated from University and moved here.) We usually made at least two, sometimes three, ski trips a year out here along with summer trips.

Our 50s were kind of blah (except for DDs wedding), multiple health issues for DH (knee replacement, back issues, a bout with post concussive syndrome, gastrointestinal issues, etc. ) and I needed to have to take more time taking care of my mother (as well as DH). All this slowed down our outdoor activities almost entirely, except for some skiing and an occasional whitewater trip, but without the constant practice our skills suffered.

Our 60s are starting out well. Most significant is the birth of our DGS last year. We've built and just moved into our dream house in our dream location, with DD, DSIL and DGS next door. My Mom still takes a lot of attention, but instead of living alone an hour away, she is thriving in a very nice Senior facility, less than 5 minutes from us. DH still has some back issues but other issues are much improved and he skis at a very high level on his new knee. With a season ski pass our skiing is picking back up both in endurance and skill. I might even be able to get back into kayaking this summer since a fun little whitewater river runs right through town and DSIL is interested in learning. DH can't kayak anymore because of his back problems and a fusion of cervical vertebrae, but has bought a raft and hopefully his back (now lower back problems) will allow him to do some rowing. We still aren't completely retired, but working more part time --2 days a week for him and a couple of hours most days for me. However, full retirement is planned in the next couple of years.

22-37

Short answer early to mid-twenties and 50 and Beyond. I hope for a long time we're 60 now.

Warning long answer.

One happy time was when DH and I got together and married and then our 2 children were born in our early and mid twenties. We got married in 81 and the next year had our son and then the next year after that had our daughter. 1 2 3.

Then I started getting very ill and DH started getting very ill about 7 years later. Those were extremely tough years.

Second best time is now. our DD has managed to achieve a great deal in her chosen career and is doing fine at her chosen job. DH and I are both healthier than we have been for years.

We still struggle financially but we are capable of making money again. That is a relief even though it may be short-lived as we are older. I hope we can be like those people we hear of who run their businesses into their eighties and nineties. We are doing everything in our power to make that the case. We have all those years to make up for financially and to generally contribute to the community.

I don't think I've lived long enough to give an answer.

My entire 20s were very stressful due to health, finances, establishing an adult life, family, kids, etc.

However, if you had asked me 10 years ago what the best time of my life was, I would have said then. Even with all the stress, there were some extreme high points to my 20s; marrying my hubby and the birth of all of our children being the best.

Right now, I would have to say that my 30s, which I am currently in the middle of, are the best.

Who knows what my answer will be in 10 years! I hope it is still that my (at that time) current life is the best!

The good and happiness has out weighed the bad and sadness every year of my life. All of it has been great. Just waiting on me some grandkids now and then things will be just about perfect.

In my case, really no age. On a superficial level, I was materially prosperous for a few years until the 2008 recession hit. I can't think of any age when I was satisfied; there was always some horror I had to suffer through. I thought I may have been satisfied at other times, but I was naive to think so.

I was happy at 35 because I hit a point where I finally felt like I “got it” which gave me more confidence. I adore my daughter so it was worth it but being a single Mom at 17 meant all work, no play and a lot of worry. I didn’t have moral support from my family, worked 2 jobs to make ends meet and was always exhausted. My life didn’t really bloom until 40 when my daughter was on her own and I met my husband.