When we think back to what we might deem the best of times, at least in terms of age, the answers are multilayered and, of course, subjective. For some, it’s age five, when even the smallest dandelion seemed whimsical. For others, it’s freshman year of college, when we perhaps felt truly autonomous and ready for reinvention.
At the Carrington Court Assisted Living and Memory Care facility in Utah, elderly residents were asked the simple question: “What was your favorite age of life?” While The Beatles’ “Here Comes the Sun” underscores the video, a handful of people give their unique answers. Many of them are downright surprising.
Their answers might surprise you
In one clip shared on Instagram, we see senior citizens tackling the question. The caption reads, “You can still hit milestones at 93!” The first woman in the clip answers quickly. “25,” she says. She’s asked why, and she laughs while explaining, “My dad had bought me a new convertible car for my birthday. And I just drove it and drove it and drove it!”
We cut to the next resident, who answers, “About 63. Not too long ago, because I was looking forward to retiring.”
The next woman has a harder time making a choice. “I have so many,” she shares, “because my children have been very busy in their life and I’ve been busy in mine, and enjoyed what we were doing.”
A man is asked, and he doesn’t have to think about it long. “Last year!” This is followed by the obvious question: “Last year? How old were you?” He vulnerably shares, “Oh my goodness. I don’t remember.” But when his memory is prompted, he remembers he’s now 94. He continues, “Last year. Because I had no interest in life until this wonderful woman here brought it back to me.” The camera then pans over to the woman who had answered 63. She chuckles lovingly while absorbing the compliment.
Another man who is asked the same question says, “My favorite year of life would have to be probably when I was 17 or 18, because I was able to win a contest on a project I had made on my own lathe or a project on my dad’s lathe. And it took first place.”
Other videos shared on their social media pages show residents being asked the same question, with various answers: “Hopscotch, true love, babies, childhood farms.” Whatever it was for each, it was tied to moments embedded in their memories that brought them pure bliss.
The comments were just as moving
The comment section seems moved by their answers, with plenty of opinions of their own. Some share how they would have answered: “I’m gonna vote 63, although I’m not there yet.”
This person can’t decide: “Who can pick just one… first true loves, seeing bands and just livin’… then the kids come along, and is anything better? Then they’re gone, but you’ve got money and time, and still can party and have fun… and I’m supposed to pick one, no can do.”
A few offer success stories from people in their lives: “My widowed aunt got remarried at 94. She’s now 99.”
Another had a similar experience with a family member: “My Mom met the love of her life at 80 in her Assisted Living home. They loved life together for the rest of their lives.”
What science says about happiness and age
The truth is that well-being researchers have studied the topic of happiness for quite some time. The consensus, at least for a handful of people, seems to be that we’re happiest in our twenties, take a big dip in middle age, and rediscover happiness again in older age.
This is known as the U-shaped happiness curve. However, a 2025 study from Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich challenged the theory directly, arguing that much of the pattern is a methodological artifact and that happiness actually declines gradually through adulthood rather than rebounding in old age. Even so, many take solace in the idea that there is always hope.
And instead of thinking of “40” as “over the hill,” as it used to be so popular to claim, the idea that it’s actually uphill after, or at least could be, is promising.
Life keeps surprising you, at any age
At the end of the day, what makes these answers so moving isn’t just the ages themselves, it’s how differently everyone defined “best.” For one woman it was a convertible at 25. For another, it was simply having someone to love again at 94. There’s no single formula, no age you’re supposed to peak by, no window that quietly closes on you.
That’s really the gift in asking people who’ve actually lived it. They’re not guessing what happiness might look like someday. They’re telling you what it actually felt like, and for plenty of them, the best chapter came later than anyone would have predicted. Even just from the tiny sample received from the senior living home, it seems pretty clear: it’s not over till it’s over.
This article originally appeared in May. It has been updated.
