Palm Coast, Florida
What It Is Like to Retire in Palm coast
The City of Palm Coast is an enormous planned community of approximately 90,000 residents (2020), located on Florida’s northeast coast, equidistant from the large cities of Jacksonville and Orlando. Many of its residents are active adults using it as a retirement community. Palm Coast is one of the more interesting hybrid communities in existence. Planned originally by ITT as a huge development, the community is now incorporated as a City, with a traditional form of city government. Palm Coast Beach is located in Flagler County. The City of Palm Coast is a fast growing “micropolis” in the Southeastern United States. Fortunately,, it seems to have a plan to control and direct its growth. Unlike most cities this one has a vision statement that it expressed in its comprehensive plan. Some of what Palm Coast strives to be is to offer exceptional quality of life, attractive job opportunities, diversified housing, and superbly designed commercial areas, valued natural, recreational, and cultural resources, exemplary public facilities and services, and responsible growth and fiscal planning. Palm Coast gives active adults 55 plus an alternative to living in the big city or in a smaller retirement community. They can choose from a variety of housing alternatives. Find out about more about what it is like to retire in Florida or nearby Jacksonville
Where to Retire in Palm coast and Home Prices
Palm Coast gives people the chance to live in a new and interesting planned development. They can choose from a variety of housing alternatives, from active communities to stand along houses. In late 2023, the median home value was $355,752, according to Zillow. Many desirable rental apartments are also available. Homes on the water will be more.
What Is Special about Palm coast
A master planning document, Intracoastal waterway, many residential options for retirees, community parks, nature preserves, state parks, Palm Harbor Shopping Center, Frieda Zamba Swimming Pool, championship golf courses, Indian Trails Sports Complex (164 acres).
What Is Not Special about Palm coast
Hurricane season. This community might be too big and too busy for many people. On a recent visit there was a lot of traffic on the central arteries. There is also no real town center - there are shopping malls and plazas, but no real community center. Palm Coast is not really a retirement community, it was intended to be that way but that has changed.
Who Will Like Retirement in Palm coast
Palm Coast attracts retirees who want to live in a planned community with mild winters. The communities generally offer plenty of recreation. Average age is 50 (Florida median age is 43). This is an all ages community with children and schools.
Local Economy Is Driven by
Construction, retail, services, and real estate are important to the economy. There are more than 30 mid to large size businesses in industrial parks here as part of the community’s economic development plan.
Climate and Physical Environment
Palm Coast is in the northern portion of the east coast of Florida. The intracostal waterway and many canals run through the area. Most areas are less than 6 miles to the ocean. Very hot and humid for long periods, but a very pretty area.
Restaurants & Cultural Scene
Palm Coast is a large community and there are some cultural events available. However, your choice of independent restaurants is going to be slim. For culture you will probably want to head to nearby Jacksonville, which has many venues to choose from.
Crime
Crime in Palm Coast is relatively low.
Medical facilities
Advent Health Palm Coast is located here.
Transportation
Daytona Beach International Airport (29 miles). St. Augustine (30 miles) Palm Coast is not a walkable town.
Comments on "Palm Coast"
Admin says:
This Comment requesting input is from Pamela:
Unfortunately, I'm still looking for my new construction home in Florida in a community that hopefully I'll love after stupidly selling my house that I owned for 28 years in an Orlando suburb. I can't believe that I'm still dealing with this nightmare over three years later. ?
I wanted to find out if there's a way to send direct/private messages from your site to your other members? City Data and other sites allow this (email addresses are masked, of course), but I didn't see this capability on your site. I thought that I'd check to make sure that's the case or if you have any suggestions.
The reason I ask is that I went to Palm Coast recently because of two of your articles and some comments on those posts (see links below). I also read reviews elsewhere that Palm Coast itself is very strict about keeping the area clean and well maintained, which is important to me. I didn't get to spend as much time there as I wanted so I might possibly go back to explore it some more. However, I have at least one major concern, which is noise from flight schools in and around Palm Coast. When I was visiting one community, I heard and saw small planes pretty much constantly. I'm also attaching a link and one comment where it's obvious that people who live there are upset about it. Before I rule this area out totally or even go back there, I thought I'd see if there's a way for me to send direct/private messages from your site to Jan and David M.
I have other concerns about Palm Coast, like lack of shopping and things to do, but I might be able to get over that. I just don't want to spend anymore time thinking about the area if flight schools are flying all over Palm Coast, which is a deal killer for me. It makes me wonder if this is the reason why homes are less expensive there than other areas of Florida. I really don't even have a desire to live anywhere near the beach, but I decided to look there because of how it's apparently kept up nicely, as well as the walking and biking trails.
Thanks for any help or advice that you can offer. Since these comments and articles are a few years old, I'm also curious if Jan and Dave M. would still move to Palm Coast today if they had their lives to live all over again. Below are the links.
Admin says:
Pamela also included some links to other Blog articles with references to Palm Coast. Here they are. Anyone with experience with Palm Coast, please chime in!
10 Great Retirement Towns for Biking
https://www.topretirements.com/blog/active-adult-communities/10-great-retirement-towns-for-biking/#comment-313465
September 10, 2020
Consider Palm Coast, Florida. I live there on the barrier island. Lots of sidewalks and biking trails, including the one on historic/scenic A1A that runs for miles parallel to the ocean. And, I can ride my bike to Publix (using my handy bike basket). Added benefit: because of the flatness and weather, you can ride your bike virtually every day. I do!
Jan Cullinane, author, The Single Woman's Guide to Retirement (AARP/Wiley)
Retirement-Friendly Places to Retire
https://www.topretirements.com/blog/active-adult-communities/12-retirement-friendly-places-to-retire/#comment-315480
Palm Coast FL is a great... By Admin
Palm Coast, FL. Dave M: ‘ “We ultimately chose Palm Coast, Florida. Why???
1. NE Florida still gives you some change of seasons. But very, very mild winters. No snow!
2. Palm Coast seems to be the “sweet spot” in hurricane avoidance
3. It is near the theme parks in Orlando, where our future grandchildren (if we ever get any of the little buggers!) will almost certainly visit with their parents. We can then go meet up with them there and then…take them all back.
4. We are on the beachfront, we have a semi-private beach all to ourselves with our family.
5. Land costs and building costs are much lower than anywhere else we looked at.
6. No state income tax.
7. It is near great health care. The Mayo Clinic is only an hour away in Jacksonville. Palm Coast itself has a lot of doctors and dentists and hospitals, not to mention in Daytona Beach, 20 min. away.
8. Not crowded! Palm Coast today reminds me of the Florida Keys back in the 1970’s when I used to go there a lot.
9. Good restaurants and lots of supermarkets and pharmacies and home improvement stores. No warehouse clubs, though…yet…But now that it is just my wife and I, not as much need for bulk items.”
John Brady says:
May 26, 2022
Palm Coast FL is a great place to live. In our Florida Directory we have links to a review of Palm Coast plus 8 communities located there.
https://www.topretirements.com/active_adult_communities/Florida.html#PalmCoast
Kay Lynn says:
I don't know about flight schools but there are several new 55+ communities building in Palm Coast. There is a brand new hospital on Palm Coast Parkway as well.
Steve says:
Pamela,
I've been to Palm Coast several times to check it out as a possible retirement community. I passed on Palm Coast. In short, my reasons were there is nothing there and you have to drive to other towns, like St. Augustine, for shopping, restaurants, night life, entertainment and interesting things to do. Traffic is very heavy all day long every day in Palm Coast. Some areas of Palm Coast are getting run down and showing their age many areas are very congested. The only attraction is nearby Flagler Beach but that is a very small town with nothing there either, although the beach is nice. Airplane noise was not a factor or even noticeable to me. Only my opinion, other I am sure like it there.
Pamela says:
Hi Kay Lynn. Thanks for your feedback. Considering it appears that you live in or near Palm Coast and you're not aware of the flight schools, maybe it's not as big of an issue as I thought, which is a good thing. Maybe the noise factor is just around that SR 100 where I visited a new community. When I initially started looking for my new home, I focused on 55+ communities, but I'm really on the fence now for various reasons. I think it's great that they have a new hospital there, which is also important to me.
Pamela says:
Hi Steve. You have no idea how much I appreciate your valuable and honest comments. You pretty much saved me a lot of time, mental energy and maybe even from making a mistake. I've been to Palm Coast briefly twice, and both times I left thinking that it wasn't for me, mainly because of the lack of shopping and things to do, as well as the flight schools. I'm so desperate to find my new home that I guess I've been trying to convince myself that maybe Palm Coast will work because they are building new single-family homes there. The only reason that I looked there in the first place is because I thought that they were strict about keeping it beautiful and maintained so the fact that some areas are getting run down is yet another reason that it looks like I'll have to cross one more city/town off my list (sigh). I'm very grateful for your feedback because I knew in my heart that it wasn't for me the first time that I went there when I recognized that shopping is limited and there's not a lot to do. I'm used to and love living in a bigger city where everything that you can imagine is there. I really missed and hated not having all of those conveniences when I moved to Southwest Florida after I sold my home. Another thing that I noticed when I moved to a smaller city is that the people who work in the stores, restaurants, medical offices, etc., aren't even close to as professional, not as helpful and don't seem to care as much as much as those places in bigger cities. I'm not sure if it's because of the lack of competition or what, but I noticed a significant difference in the attitudes and my customer experience compared to where I lived for decades. Since it seems that we want some of the same things as to the city and community where we live, I'd love it if you'd be willing to share the city where you landed because maybe I should check it out. :)
I recently came back to the city where I used to live and love, but it's built out, and I prefer new construction. Thanks again for your help.
Steve says:
Hi Pamela. One thing I should clarify is and maybe I misspoke when I used the term run down. Palm Coast is pretty strict about keeping the place nice but what I meant was that some areas are showing their age; the town was started back in the 1970's I believe. Some of the homes I looked at were a little rough from the out side and the insides very dated and very well used, basically worn out. An issue that Palm Coast had at one time was the homes were so inexpensive that many of them were bought up by out of town landlords who then rented them out. Renters and landlords very commonly overlook maintenance and upkeep and there are definitely pockets of homes which were rented out long term and it shows. So that's that. Note also there are in fact a lot of new homes going up and there are many nice well kept neighborhoods and overall the Palm Coast is a nicely maintained town.
My issue is mainly that, with the exception of nearby Flagler Beach, you have to travel to get really good shopping, restaurants and things to do and also the daily traffic issues. The realtor I was working with lived in a high end area of Palm Coast for many years and she and her husband moved out specifically due to these points. They got tired of having to travel to do the nicer things.
Regarding lack of customer service and focus, I think that is normal once you get outside the northeast and out of the larger cities and it's especially noticeable in the south. They call it being laid back but I think it's more laziness and/or lack of economic opportunity, education etc. Also, it's pretty cheap to live in the south where the weather is good all year long, you don't have to make much money to exist.
I live in New England and haven't found my final retirement place yet. One thing I recognize now is there is no place that will check all the boxes. You are just going to have to accept that there are negatives but ignore them and focus on and appreciate the positives.
Pamela says:
Hi Steve. Thank you so much for your kindness and providing this additional helpful feedback. My gut told me both times that I went to Palm Coast that it's not for me, and I feel that way even more so today. I'm no longer going to pursue that area so I now need to focus my efforts on finding a location that hopefully has real potential.
Even if I found a new home community and house that I absolutely love in Palm Coast, I know in my heart that I won't be happy there. Like you, I want great shopping, restaurants and things to do in the city where I actually live. There are things that I'll compromise on, but that's not one of them. Even though I'm very healthy and thankfully don't have any medical needs now, I know this can change in an instant so having great doctors and healthcare nearby is a huge factor, too. I'd give anything if I could rewind my life and still have my house. I've been searching all over this state, and I've yet to find a city or community that's similar and has all the things that are important to me. I'm going to start reminding myself daily that nothing is perfect so thanks for your words of wisdom. It seems the majority of what builders are building in Florida today are either townhouses, condos, two story or very large single-family homes, or in undesirable locations. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the housing market will turn around and give me renewed hope in early 2024. Thanks again, and Happy Holidays!