Palm Coast info? (Jacksonville, Tampa, Orlando: appointed, for sale, apartments)

[leo_075]

Any information on if this is a good family area and good schools would be great. We're considering this place for a rental and are moving from the Tampa Bay area, but do not know very much about this area.

Thanks!

[riveree]

Palm Coast is actually a good distance from Jax, so I'm not sure how much feedback you'll get on this forum - you might want to post on the general Florida forum as well.

If you do a search on the general Florida forum page, you'll see a lot of threads about Palm Coast.

I don't live there, but based on the threads, there is quite a bit of complaining about the schools (but, hey, that's Florida, right? ). There is plenty of new housing in PC, and it's relatively inexpensive - certainly less expensive than Jacksonville. There still doesn't seem to be much in PC beyond housing developments though, so you'll need to consider that as well - how far you want to drive to get to restaurants, shopping etc. It seems most people in PC are still having to drive out of PC to get anything beyond the most basic of basics .

Personally, I'd chose Tampa over Palm Coast if those were my 2 choices .

[leo_075]

I appreciate the info! Thanks

[Sharon J.]

I just moved to Palm Coast 3 months ago. I have a 16 year old who attends school here. I'm not sure how comprehensive the academics are, at this point. But as riveree mentioned, the Florida school system has a reputation of not being as far along as other schools systems.

The cost of housing in Palm Coast seems to be quite reasonable and I've looked in the paper and have seen some good deals for renting.

I do think that Palm Coast is absolutely beautiful. Before we retired here I checked and researched many, many other cities and Palm Coast, seems to be, by far, the most attractive and lush area.

There is a drawback and that is it is a growing community. For one, there is a lot of traffic congestion right off Rt.95, but considering you are moving from Tampa, it may not seem all the big a deal. Second, as PC is growing, that means, there are some things/conveniences here, and new places are opening this year, but the variety is still limited at the present time. I did find that a nuisence when I first moved here, but I'm adjusting.

I guess it all depends on what you personally are looking for, and what's important for your own quality of life. I think the only way to see if an area is right for you is to visit it and while you are here pick up a couple of papers to check out housing/renting costs, jobs, etc. I visited many cities thru the internet, and it can be deceiving. There was one town I fell in love with thru the interest, but when I took a ride thru there, it wasn't what I expected and was disappointed.

This is my first post on this forum, so it's all new to me, but I think that I was meant to get on this, to connect with you as I'm a new resident of Palm Coast and can give you a realistic picture of what you might find here.

Best of luck to ya,
Sharon

[floridaexchange]

Depending on where you live in Tampa, prepare for a big slowww down if you move to palm coast. It's a relatively new "city" just incorporated in 1999. The population is about 70,000. Its a good place to retire but if you are young and still trying to find a high paying job and all that, then palm coast is not the right place.
However, it is a low crime area and good for raising a family. The main street Palm coast parkway is where most of the businesses are located. We are currently just getting big businesses to move in. They are building a huge town square with a super target, TJ max and all that to open in 2008, and a newly built Lowes and belk just opened a few weeks ago. That will solve a major problem of having to drive all the way to Daytona Beach to do shopping, unless you like going Walmart all the time.
The housing market has come to a slump here, you should have no problem finding a good size home in the $150's , almost every street has at least 5 to 10 for sale signs.
If you are looking for golfing in gated subdivisions in the $250,000 to $1mill search up on Grand Haven, Hammock Beach, Grand Landings(in development stages), Hidden Lakes, Island Estates.
Regular rentals in apartments/duplexes are in the $650's and up and home rentals are in the $700's and up all depends on what section you live in. If you trying for apartments then look up Pine Lakes Apartments(about $800/month). That's a good place to start, then again you can probably find a whole house to rent to yourself for the price they rent for.
The city sections are pretty unique and makes it easy to find your way around. The streets in one area for example may ALL start with the letter F. Hence they call it the F-section. Then there is the L-sections, W's, R's, P's and so on. The area with the newest homes are in the L-Section while the oldest smaller homes are in the F and C sections. If you into boating /fishing then check out the C-section where people literally have the intra-coastal in their back yard.
There are no "bad" areas or "hoods" in Palm Coast but I would avoid some places in the P Section off plain view drive.Most of the P section is a big flood zone anyways.
I dont know much about schools since my kid is only 6 months but most schools are within 10mins of where you live.Main schools I know are on Belle Terre Parkway, Flagler Palm Coast High School on US100, Mantanzas Woods High School(newly built) and Old Kings.
Location:If you have NO traffic then palm coast is 1 hour 15mins to Jacksonville and about 1hour 30mins to Orlando so its a good central location. The 2 major highways are I95 and US 1. It is 10mins for Flagler beach and 20mins from Daytona Beach and 30mins from St Augustine. I4 is about 25mins from Palm coast.
Transport: Palm Coast has no established city transport except for the Flagler Couty Public transport who drive about elderly people. Their are a few odd 1 and 2 car taxi businesses popping up and that's it, so you need a car to get around. They do have school bus transport system.
Like I said it all depends on what your plans are. If you are going to work in Jacksonville, then palm coast commute is too far, try Orange Park, Green Cove Springs or St. Augustine if you don't want to live too close to Jacksonville.

Edit: Palm Coast is good for raising family and is expected to grow further but I heading north to Jacksonville for now...gotta make the money.

[vdecapio]

Have any of you heard of two Portuguese restaurants in Palm Coast? There are two listings one for Portugalia at 1 Commercial Cort and another for Portuguese BBQ at 15A Palm Harbor Village Way. Do these restaurants still exist? Are they worth the drive from Jacksonville?

I love the portuguese people and their food. There was a large community of portuguese/brazilian people in Newark, NJ and it was the nicest section of Newark. The people knew it was their neighborhood and they took pride in keeping it clean and well kept. I loved going there for food, clothes, etc. Is there a sizeable number of portuguese in Palm Coast? It seems as if there would be if there are 2 restaurants there.

[floridaexchange]

Taste of Portugal, 15 Palm Harbor Village Way, Palm Coast, FL 32137

(386) 447-3872
there is the "european village" which has some restaurants. I never been in there for dinner so I dunno if it's worth the drive. Try searching on European Village in Palm Coast and see what comes up.
Palm Coast also has a Portuguese Club/Association on 1200 Palm Harbor Parkway , so I guess that means there is some sort of sizable Portuguese population here, look up their phone number, they might be able to advise you.

[palmcoasting]

Yes, there is. There is also the Portuguese American Club here...
1200 Palm Harbor Pkwy
Palm Coast, FL 32137
(386) 446-3910
You can call them for information about restaurants, activities they have, etc.
It's quite an active club.

[lauraja]

Palm Coast, FL, has some definite positives.
It has one of the largest bike paths that I know of
in Florida. You can bicycle for miles either along the
intracoastal or out onto the hammock (barrier island)
that runs along the ocean. You can also bicycle or
drive a 17-mile easy drive to St. Augustine. St.
Augustine is a great place to view artwork and stroll
along the cobblestone streets, look at the famous
Flagler College or just take in a coffee, lunch or
wonderful dinner at the Casa Monica Hotel....gorgeous
architecture abounds.

The Hammock area is a quiet area of Palm Coast.
There are quiet beaches and NO DRIVING along the
Hammock areas. There are some great restaurants
in Flagler Beach (especially the Fresh Fish Company).
The wait is never too long -- like some restaurants
I know of along the gulf coast of Florida, where you
may need a tent to camp out while you wait ).

Palm coast offers a great rec center at affordable
prices, along with the other pricey areas of Hammock
Beach and Ocean Hammock which have their exclusive
restaurants & amenities. The Ocean areas of Palm Coast
are much more affordable than other parts of Florida and
the best part -- Most of the homes and condos along the
ocean are NEW -- built within the last 7 yrs.

[lauraja]

Forgot to mention a couple of other positives for Palm
Coast....It does have an extension for Daytona Beach
Community College and does also offer continuing education
classes through the district at reasonable prices.
If a person is interested in advancing his/her knowledge
there are plenty of affordable avenues to take.

Hey, it's not Paris, but in my opinion none of Florida
compares to the shopping or the culture offered in
Europe. This part of Florida offers some of what
"old Florida" had to offer -- it's great if you are a
person who likes to be outdoors most of the year.
In close proximity is Washington Gardens and state
parks near and on the Ocean -- unbuilt and uncluttered
areas that are hard to find on the other coasts of Florida.

But, if shopping is your passion -- I would recommend
moving to someplace other than Florida....