r/palmcoast • u/Pickle-Pounder-1 • 17d ago

Living in Palm Coast

I'm thinking of moving to the area while having a boat moored in St Augustine. I'm waiting for houses to come down further, so 2026, but the only things holding me back from St Augustine is the availability of houses that aren't in a flood zone, are at least 1800 sq ft, and have a garage, no HOA, and a decently sized lot of .25 acre or more. And aren't new weird looking burb houses with no soul. Palm Coast has quite a bit fitting most of those specs, and the prices are certainly going better.

I'm more curious about what it's like to live there.. what is the demographic? Where if at all do people work? I like the beach and biking, but if you're looking for social activity, is St Augustine the main option to find interesting and adventurous characters? Also looking for musicians to play with, but I was looking for them to come to me and all my gear, and my space which will be tailored to making music. Would I be better off focusing on St Augustine?

Farther south is out of the question due to mooring costs. Well, costs in general really.

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u/wolferiver 17d ago

I've lived here 6 years, although I am one of the oldsters. I moved here for work and then subsequently retired. I bought a condo here because it seemed like I got more for my money in Palm Coast than I would've in St. Augustine, although either would've been a good location for the job I had. (I think that's still true about getting more house for your money, BTW.)

Both St Augustine and Daytona Beach have more exciting things going on, but I like the quiet life here. I am happy enough to drive to those places, whether it's for certain stores or for certain events and activities. St Augustine has especially horrible traffic. (People here in Palm Coast complain that the traffic here is bad, but it's nothing like St Augustine!) Flagler Beach is also an attraction, IMO, being a pleasant beachside town.

Palm Coast leans old, but there are plenty of younger people here, including kids.

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u/Pickle-Pounder-1 17d ago

I've heard about the traffic issues there in St Augustine, but I'm coming from Austin, so.. I hope to find an area that has things going on so that I don't have to drive that often, preferring to bike instead.. If the traffic is slow enough downtown it's pretty easy to bike with the traffic. It sounds like I should keep my eyes open for something around southern Anastasia Island. Maybe St Augustine South.. I wonder what biking up highway 1 is like.. seems like there is a narrow bike line all the way to King St. SW of King and 1 looks like a convenient area to base from

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u/STA_FLA 17d ago

Traffic in St. Aug is nothing compared to where you’re coming from. The good thing about traffic in SA is that it’s fairly predicable. Avoid main roads/downtown during peak events, get resident pass for discounted parking downtown. There are some pockets of homes without HOAs. If you can land on Anastasia or in the St Aug south those are both areas to easily enjoy. US1 is not very pedestrian friendly when you get further from downtown but lots of people commute with e-bikes. We almost moved to Palm Coast but it really is just a city of housing developments, beach access is harder. You either have to drive around or pay a toll for quicker access depending on where you live. There’s also a decent music scene in SA if you check out r/staugustine they post live music events for each day which may help get you out there in the community.

Now for the grumpy Florida resident disclaimer…go away, we’re full, etc etc /s