Florida

Panama City

Panama City FL Beaches
Published on February 10, 2015

Panama City Florida has always been a gem along the Emerald Coast but its growing international business on the Port Panama City is pushing the city forward in ways the small best Florida beach town has been waiting on. Having some of the cheapest international fees on the coast, new and old businesses are beginning to rethink where they import and export their goods, causing an economic boom Panama City has likely never seen.  According to CNN’s Business 2.0 Magazine, Panama City was voted the Best Place to Invest in Real Estate in 2006. 

Whether you are in the import/export business, a family that desires a small town feel without sacrificing cultural diversity, or simply enjoys the breathtaking views of the turquoise green Gulf Coast waters, Florida offers plenty of reasons to relocate at retirement.  The Panama City Bay Area has three ports:  Port Panama City (125 acres), Hugh Nelson Industrial Park (175 acres), Bay Industrial Park (260 acres), and currently, the Bay Line Railroad and the Port Authority are hashing out the plans for a 1500 acre complex in the near future; gearing this city up for some major economic growth.

Best places to live in Panama City FL:

SEASIDE: Located between Panama City Beach and Destin in southern Walton County off HWY 30.  Seaside was voted the best beach on Earth for families in 2013 by Time + Leisure Magazine. This new age town is being praised for its unique architecture, branded as a “New Urbanism” style by design magazines and architecture schools, according to the town’s website. The town center is alive with galleries, shops, and restaurants.  The community showcases hundreds of homes. Most are vacation rentals because Seaside is a popular vacation town. Homes can be quite costly, ranging just under to well over one million dollars. 

DESTIN:  Located between Choctawhatchee Bay and the Gulf of Mexico. 55 million visitors make their way to the Emerald Coast; roughly 80% end up in Destin, making this fishing town a pretty popular place to be.  Nicknamed, “The World’s Luckiest Fishing Village,” the plentiful waters of the bay and coast make Destin a destination worth returning. Homes are more affordable than Seaside, beginning much lower in the 200k and 400k ranges but can exceed one million dollars easily when considering beachfront property. ​

DOWNTOWN PANAMA CITY:  History, art, shops, services, restaurants, entertainment, financial centers, and government buildings; downtown is the nucleus of the city and the Downtown Panama Improvement Board plans to keep it that way.  The boards vision is to preserve the downtown districts historical content, provide community- driven incentives like music and art festivals, and maintain a steadfast development to promote new business growth. ​

SANTA ROSA BEACH: Located in southern Walton County, beautiful Santa Rosa Beach was voted in Travel + Leisure magazine’s “Best Beaches on Earth” for families.   It’s one of sixteen communities along a 26- mile strip down the coast, has multi-point entrances into Point Washington Park and is known for lavish beachfront homes that line streets named White Heron Drive and Sand Dune Road. Condos and townhomes begin in the mid-100k’s to 500ks. Homes begin around a quarter of a million and exceed well over a million.

ARTS & CULTURE

The Marina Civic Center is located on the Panama City Marina and offers a wide array of entertainment. Headliners like Tony Bennett and Heart are the next upcoming events, as well as, The Moscow City Ballet performing Cinderella and a performance by Mosley High School of The Addams Family.

Martin Theatre is a vintage piece of Panama City. Originally opened in 1936 as a cinema center, running until the new ownership by the Martin family ensued in the 50’s, changing the name. Left abandoned and unkept in the 70s, it lay vacant for some time. Finally in the 90’s the city decided to purchase the building and turn it into a publicly funded theatre. Today, funny pieces performed like “Unnecessary Farce”, the Tony Award winning “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” grace the stage, as well as, tribute band shows like “Rave On: The Buddy Holly Experience” and “The British Invasion Tribute” for the Beatles on a regular basis.

The Visual Arts Center located on 4th St in downtown Panama City is an engaging facility that displays a rotation of annual exhibitions from local and better-known artist.  VAC offers adult amateur and advanced art classes in an array of medians like sculpture, drawing, painting, photography, and pottery, plus, an assortment of festivals held throughout the city. 

CLIMATE

The average temperature in Panama City Florida is about 68 degrees and is a sub-tropical climate. We’d venture to say that is one of the best averages in Florida making it one of the best Florida beach towns. Summers are mostly a comfortable setting between 75 and 86 degrees Fahrenheit and usually no higher than the 90s, during July and August. Winters usually stay around the 50s and 60s and may drop down to the 40s during the coldest months of December and January. Average annual precipitation is 61 inches. 

LIFELONG LEARNING EXPERIENCES

Once called the “Harvard of the sky” in an article by Time magazine, Embry- Riddle Aeronautical University is one of the most prestigious of its kind and Tyndel Air Force Base located 12 miles east of Panama City offers a satellite campus. Florida State University has a facility in Panama City that currently enrolls over 1500 students and offers 15 Bachelor and 19 Graduate degrees.  Troy University of Alabama has a global campus with in Panama City, sharing high quality education in the worlds of business, art, and science. 

HEALTHCARE & MEDICAL

Panama City has many medical facilities and options to receive specific care in any area.  Health care services like Pan Care Health provide affordable care for patients throughout the northwest region of Florida. Two federally qualified centers are available in Panama City: Community Health Centers for medical and dental. Flexible payment plans are available if you have no insurance.  

Bay Medical Center is located on North Bonita Drive, joined by Sacred Heart Health System and leads the charge in many procedures such as minimally invasive robotic surgery, women’s health, cardiac care, pneumonia treatment and more. In fact, Bay Medical has received so many accolades and awards in these areas, leading research facilities that score hospitals yearly have placed the facility in the ranks as the top 50 hospitals in the country for five consecutive years. 

Apria Healthcare is located on Jenks Avenue in Panama City and leads the nation in home medical supplies and offers therapies for medical conditions like Sleep Apnea, Respiratory, Wound Care, and Diabetes.

Chironetwork is a multidisciplinary facility in Panama City that offers services in pain management, chiropractic care, physical and decompression therapy, and cold laser treatments. 

RECREATIONAL SPORTS

Panama City isn’t the home of any major league sports teams, however there are plenty of leisurely activities and local sport teams for men, women, and children that the parks and recreation department provide.

Life here truly revolves around the sea. Beachcombing, water sports, boating and fishing. 

SHOPPING & DINING

There is plenty of shopping excursions in the local area that are fun and varietal. Panama City Beach is a mecca for fun in the sun beach retail like Alvin’s Island on Beach Front Road or Into the Blue Surf & Sport, but it also offers plenty of unique finds like fine gifts from Blue Heron or the beautiful Little Village, a trade store located in historic St. Andrews that gives local artists a voice outside their region to help their communities by selling art.  Panama City Mall has a JC Penney, Dillards, and Sears as the anchors.  And, located on Pier Park Road is Pier Park, a Simon Mall giving residents and visitors access to favorites like Bath and Body Works, Aeropostale, Charlotte Russe, Chico’s, Fab’rik, Crocs, Columbia, and Del Sol, as well as, great eating venues like Five Guys, Long Horn Steakhouse, Buffalo Wild Wings and, Kilwin’s for dessert.

Dining in Panama City Florida will never fall short of many options.  International favorites such as German, Italian, Spanish, and Asian cuisine are available in most of the surrounding area of Panama City, as well as, American Favorites like soul food and BBQ. And, of course, enough fresh seafood to last you a lifetime: The Gulf Coast offers up some of the best grouper, snapper, and shrimp around.   

HOME AFFORDABILITY & TAXES

Panama City homes for sale average in the low $100's on the mainland and to more than double on the barrier islands. The city is located in Bay County. The estimated property tax millage rate ranges from is $1.18 to $1.56 per $100. Visit our library to find help and to learn how to calculate property taxes in Florida. If you're searching for beachfront property or gated communities, there are a number of neighborhoods we find of interest.

Population: 37,000
Median State Property Tax: 0.02%
State Sales Tax: 7%
State Income Tax: 0%
Airports
  • Panama City NW Florida Beaches (ECP)
Arts & Culture
  • Panama City Center for the Arts
  • Beach Art Group
  • Grand Lagoon Waterfront Farmers Market
  • My Paint Party
  • Sun Bear Gallery & Studio
  • Panama City Symphony Orchestra
Events & Festivals
  • The PCB Mardi Gras and Music Festival - FEB
  • Food Truck & Craft Beer Festival - FEB
  • Seabreeze Jazz Festival - APR
  • Pepsi Gulf Coast Jam - JUN
  • Summer Concert Series - JUN & AUG
  • Real. Fun. Fourth. - JUL
  • Schooners Lobster Festival and Tournament - OCT
  • Oktoberfest - OCT
  • Beach Home for the Holidays - NOV
  • New Year’s Eve Beach Ball Drop - DEC
Hospitals & Healthcare
  • Gulf Coast Regional Medical Center
  • Bay Medical Centre Sacred Heart Health System
Colleges & Universities
  • Florida State University - Panama City
  • Gulf Coast State College
State & National Parks
  • Frank Brown Park
Top Employers
  • Wells Fargo
  • AT&T
  • Wal-Mart
  • Deloitte
  • Verizon
  • Target
  • Boeing
  • UnitedHealth Group
  • LockHeed Martin Corp
  • State Farm