Spring break congeston in Panama City Beach (Mexico Beach: high school, college)

[wlawler]

Considering a move to PCB from out of state, and wondering to what degree the spring break influx affects normal activity such as driving to/from work (both near the navy base in PCB), grocery shopping, etc. how long does the congestion last? is air travel when booking several weeks in advance feasible? Anything you would like to add would be appreciated.

[smithstation]

Spring break traffic is annoying but not intolerable. I guess it all depends on what you're used to...having lived in Phoenix, Charlotte and others, the "traffic" here is laughable. Worst part is the beach roads mean there's only one way to get to most places, and that's what slows things down.

As a local, you learn to avoid certain areas at certain times of the day (spring breakers don't usually interfere with morning commutes, for example) and avoiding some stores/restaurants during their season altogether. I've lived here 5 years and they barely even phase me except on the odd day I forget it's begun and am stuck at the grocery store behind them.

It usually starts the last week of February, and lets up in April. They can be crazy, but it's easy to avoid them, even on the beach!

[wlawler]

Thanks for the info, very useful. I live now in the DC metro area, traffic is insane and getting worse. Looking forward to losing the gridlock situations.

[FLgirl367]

How long does spring break season last? Does it begin with college breaks and go through high school breaks?

If I want to be near the water would it be better to live in Panama City rather than PC Beach to avoid spring break issues?

[smithstation]

The beaches are not in PC...they are in PCB. You get bays and bayou front property in PC, but no beach to speak of until you get to Mexico Beach, which is about 45 minutes east of PC and close to nothing else. PCB is the best beach town, IMO, for families in that area. It's obviously got spring break issues but it is a close knit family community for locals. College spring break begins 3rd week of February and goes through April, but honestly in 5 years I think I was annoyed twice by spring break college kids and that was because I went to Walmart too late in the day and they were all over the place. Once you live there, you know where to go and what to avoid for traffic/spring break madness. The perks of living there welllllll outweigh the annoyances of Spring Break, IMO.

The West End of PCB is really picking up and is still family friendly with parks, dog parks, water parks, outdoor concerts, Pier Park, Miracle Strip...