As another viewpoint from the other responders here; we decided not to have kids and no regrets 20 years in, quite the opposite. Luckily where we are from it do

As another viewpoint from the other responders here; we decided not to have kids and no regrets 20 years in, quite the opposite. Luckily where we are from it does not have as much stigma as in other places as most our friends do not have kids. I think it is important to make up your mind (with your current significant other; another relation might swing your opinion, it happens a lot); I know many people where one of the two wanted kids (usually the woman but in some cases the man) and that ended up badly after getting kids; sometimes a long time after, but when you get older you notice this 1/3rd divorce thing is real and with those couples the fights (I sat on the embarrassing end of dinners at friends...) ends with something like ‘but you took away my youth’. Too many people still have a baby to save the relationship; maybe it works for some, but it didn’t for the people I know anyway. As for a burden; I know people get a lot of satisfaction from kids. If I had them I would be full in as I do with everything. Probably so would you. It is more important to think of your future plans and ambitions maybe; my wife and myself are people with a lot of plans, always had those and we wanted to execute them. I do not believe in having kids and then having them raised by the nanny and boarding school. Children simply did not fit; if we would have had ‘an accident’, we always said we would have kept her/him and would’ve had a second one and change our planning to ‘settle down’. Accidents did not happen and we were free to follow our planning and not ‘settle down’.