Dallas Ranks in Top 10 Babysitter Markets

Abundant source, reasonable rates put Dallas at No. 6

Finding a babysitter in Dallas shouldn’t be much of a problem.

There are about 13,000 qualified babysitters in town, according to a news release issued by something called Sittercity.com — and it’s just a little bit unsettling to log onto a website for the first time and see your ZIP already in a search field — and the average hourly rate goes for about $11.66, which is way cheaper than a hooker. C'mon, a friend told me.

Of course, the degree of difficulty must increase a bit if you’re No. 13,001 in line for a sitter on a given Friday night, but hey, you knew life with a kid or two wouldn’t be all puppies and ice cream.

The combination of availability and price puts Dallas at No. 6 on a national ranking of the best markets for babysitters conducted by Sittercity. Houston came in a No. 9, so ha, Dallas wins again. Then again, Austin ranked No. 4, so damn it.

Virginia Beach, Va., topped the survey, followed by Charlotte, N.C.; Naperville, Ill.; [skip Austin, those raging orange-blood liberals, and that’s their good qualities]; Portland, Ore.; [skip Dallas, you already mentioned that sacred ground]; Minneapolis; Denver; [skip Houston because you just don’t want to mention them again, ugh]; and Atlanta.

So go ahead, make last-minute plans for the weekend. Finding a sitter should be a snap. Unless, of course, you can afford only $11.65 an hour.

Bruce Felps owns and operates East Dallas Times, an online community news outlet serving the White Rock Lake area. He has a simple solution to avoiding babysitting hassles: don’t have kids.
 

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