I think it's more accurate to say he's been living his life as though it isn't a major priority. But I think that's starting to change as he gets older and realizes that he's running out of time.
Yes, that is definitely more accurate. But then, he's starting a relationship on the show. There's really nothing about these two men that doom them them to not finding a mate. Like, I remember being confused by Charlie's line about Einstein, which I think was supposed to be an example about how people in his field don't do well with this sort of thing: He left his wife and married his cousin. I don't get how Einstein is any majorly bad example. He got married young (like Alan) and got divorced, then later married again and I think she died a while later. I don't that's very different from plenty of city planners.
And while it's true that being in a family doesn't mean you're taken care of, it's also true that human beings need other human contact. If he can get it from friends instead of family, great. But I also think family has more of an obligation to stand by you when things get bad and they're less likely to move away from you than a friend.
That's a commonly held belief but it's not always true by any means. That is, many people have the opposite experience--unsupportive family vs. supportive group of lifelong friends. (I'd guess the gay community is especially strong that way.) In fact, I always remember reading an interesting thing about nursing homes that said that the more unhappy patients were often ones with families because they depended on their visits. Single people were more used to creating a social life by themselves. Obviously that's not true for everyone, but it is true in some cases. So while having a family is a rewarding experience, it's not always the key to not being lonely in old age.
Charlie may not have the family/duty connection down, but Don and Alan certainly do. I think Charlie could be fine single as long as he had someone who lived with him or at least visited frequently.
It always seems kind of funny to me because watching it always seems like the way to get Charlie to learn the stuff is to just make him live by himself. You learn about that kind of stuff by living by yourself.
For one thing, I don't think he gets that in choosing to be homeless he imposes on everyone else when he crashes on their couches, etc.)
I do wonder about that. I mean, he can support himself monetarily and this does seem to be a conscious choice he's making so he may be very aware of the inconvenience and not stay with people for a long time and offer things in return. It seems like that's the kind of lifestyle he's going for--but then, I don't know for sure!
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Yes, that is definitely more accurate. But then, he's starting a relationship on the show. There's really nothing about these two men that doom them them to not finding a mate. Like, I remember being confused by Charlie's line about Einstein, which I think was supposed to be an example about how people in his field don't do well with this sort of thing: He left his wife and married his cousin. I don't get how Einstein is any majorly bad example. He got married young (like Alan) and got divorced, then later married again and I think she died a while later. I don't that's very different from plenty of city planners.
And while it's true that being in a family doesn't mean you're taken care of, it's also true that human beings need other human contact. If he can get it from friends instead of family, great. But I also think family has more of an obligation to stand by you when things get bad and they're less likely to move away from you than a friend.
That's a commonly held belief but it's not always true by any means. That is, many people have the opposite experience--unsupportive family vs. supportive group of lifelong friends. (I'd guess the gay community is especially strong that way.) In fact, I always remember reading an interesting thing about nursing homes that said that the more unhappy patients were often ones with families because they depended on their visits. Single people were more used to creating a social life by themselves. Obviously that's not true for everyone, but it is true in some cases. So while having a family is a rewarding experience, it's not always the key to not being lonely in old age.
Charlie may not have the family/duty connection down, but Don and Alan certainly do. I think Charlie could be fine single as long as he had someone who lived with him or at least visited frequently.
It always seems kind of funny to me because watching it always seems like the way to get Charlie to learn the stuff is to just make him live by himself. You learn about that kind of stuff by living by yourself.
For one thing, I don't think he gets that in choosing to be homeless he imposes on everyone else when he crashes on their couches, etc.)
I do wonder about that. I mean, he can support himself monetarily and this does seem to be a conscious choice he's making so he may be very aware of the inconvenience and not stay with people for a long time and offer things in return. It seems like that's the kind of lifestyle he's going for--but then, I don't know for sure!