panama city

Hi. I am from the Panama city area. Also I am planning to move back home in the near future. I love it there. The best place to live is panama city beach. Beautiful white soft sand and emerald green water that is warm enough to swim almost year round, weather is nice kind of humid,temps range from coldest about 42 to warmest ever about 101, rains alot in winter and then again there is the huricaine season, diving, snorkling, sailing you name it with water sports. Its a layed back friendly atmosphere. Kind of touristy and busy in the summer and especially spring break, some big dance clubs, but some areas surrounding have a small town atmospheres. Anyway plenty to do. 2 hospitals Bay Medical Center and Gulf Coast medical center. They have a NICU small but nice(thats where I worked) Nurse midwives and practitioners make much more than I did ($22/hr) ,but if you compare it to the situation I am in now in California its great. I make 33-40/hr CA my house payment is 2045/mo gas is 2.3/gal traffic is unbelievable!!!! My house payment in Fl is 535+ $45/mo ins and 1200/yr property tax. Everything else is much cheaper there(last time I visited in december gas was about 1.30/gal. traffic is non existant in panama city but there is a crunch on the bridge from the beach to the city during the tourist season so if you live on the beach and work in the city you will encounter traffic on the bridge during those times(unfortunately it is the only route to take).Can you see why I am want to move back? I LOVE PANAMA CITY!!!! Anyway good luck and have lots of fun! (

I'm planning on moving to panama city for nursing school. I'm also going to live there, does nayone know what it islike and is it liveable(things to do, work, etc). Also does anyone know the salary for a CRNA and a midwife.

Hurrican season:o I didn't think of that, is it nonliveable when its hurricane season, panama city beach sounds like a great place to live and after what I read, I'm excitied. Also is the Bay Medical Center close to panama city beach because thats where I'm taking my CRNA program. I do plan on living on the beach and working in the city.Do you know the pay there for RN in the NICU and a CRNA?

Hi. I am from the Panama city area. Also I am planning to move back home in the near future. I love it there. The best place to live is panama city beach. Beautiful white soft sand and emerald green water that is warm enough to swim almost year round, weather is nice kind of humid,temps range from coldest about 42 to warmest ever about 101, rains alot in winter and then again there is the huricaine season, diving, snorkling, sailing you name it with water sports. Its a layed back friendly atmosphere. Kind of touristy and busy in the summer and especially spring break, some big dance clubs, but some areas surrounding have a small town atmospheres. Anyway plenty to do. 2 hospitals Bay Medical Center and Gulf Coast medical center. They have a NICU small but nice(thats where I worked) Nurse midwives and practitioners make much more than I did ($22/hr) ,but if you compare it to the situation I am in now in California its great. I make 33-40/hr CA my house payment is 2045/mo gas is 2.3/gal traffic is unbelievable!!!! My house payment in Fl is 535+ $45/mo ins and 1200/yr property tax. Everything else is much cheaper there(last time I visited in december gas was about 1.30/gal. traffic is non existant in panama city but there is a crunch on the bridge from the beach to the city during the tourist season so if you live on the beach and work in the city you will encounter traffic on the bridge during those times(unfortunately it is the only route to take).Can you see why I am want to move back? I LOVE PANAMA CITY!!!! Anyway good luck and have lots of fun! (

Well there are alot of false alarms as far as Hurricanes go. All the crazy surfers (like my EX) get out on the big waves every time there is a tropical storm or Hurricanewe had only one bad one that was hurricane Opal in oct 1997.Several beach houses right on the sand were destroyed. but my house was 1 block from the beach and nothing happened except about 3 shingles blew off the roof and some books in the garage got wet. the power never went out but they did evacuate the beach area for a few days I was an RN in NICU at gulf coast hosp and made 22/hr per diem in 2001. not sure what CRNA's make. Bay Medical cntr is in downtown Panama about 8miles from the beach depending on how far west on the beach you live. I have lots of pretty pictures I could share(if I knew how on this site I even have pics of the hurricane opal.

Hurrican season:o I didn't think of that, is it nonliveable when its hurricane season, panama city beach sounds like a great place to live and after what I read, I'm excitied. Also is the Bay Medical Center close to panama city beach because thats where I'm taking my CRNA program. I do plan on living on the beach and working in the city.Do you know the pay there for RN in the NICU and a CRNA?

Hey guys...I live in Alabama and have been playin around with the idea of eventually moving to live and work in Florida. Panama City is a GREAT place. It has been a long time vacation destination for my family and many of my friends...of course there's always spring break too. I have been down there at least two or three times a year since i was a toddler. The people are so nice and the weather is usually great. The surrounding areas such as Seaside and Grayton Beach are amazing. I LOVE being on and around the beach and water so what could be better than living there year round? The cost of living definitely is not bad and most expenses are reasonable. I was actually in PC last weekend and gas has gone up to about $1.85-ish give or take a few pennies. What was working in the NICU there like? That is what I would love to specialize in. How are the environments in the hospitals there? Thanks for any info. =)

ok thanks for the info. Do you have a scanner for your pics?

Well there are alot of false alarms as far as Hurricanes go. All the crazy surfers (like my EX) get out on the big waves every time there is a tropical storm or Hurricanewe had only one bad one that was hurricane Opal in oct 1997.Several beach houses right on the sand were destroyed. but my house was 1 block from the beach and nothing happened except about 3 shingles blew off the roof and some books in the garage got wet. the power never went out but they did evacuate the beach area for a few days I was an RN in NICU at gulf coast hosp and made 22/hr per diem in 2001. not sure what CRNA's make. Bay Medical cntr is in downtown Panama about 8miles from the beach depending on how far west on the beach you live. I have lots of pretty pictures I could share(if I knew how on this site I even have pics of the hurricane opal.

Hi all,

Before I forget . . BeachBunny, did you ever know Jessica Morgan? She was a Respiratory Therapist at GCMC from about 1996 to 1999, or so. Thought maybe you'd run into her at one time or another.

Andrea . . I've been living in Panama City for about 12 years (retired USAF) and just finished nursing school at Gulf Coast CC. Been working part-time at Bay Medical (Pulmonary-Stepdown) for about a year. Have promised my boss my first year so I'll remain with that great group of people.

First off, I'd like to set the record straight on a few things here that may have changed the past couple of years. The cost of living here has changed quite a bit. While I agree, Panama City Beach (PCB) can be a great place to live (beach proximity, clubs, etc---depending on your interests), the cost of real estate has skyrocketed the past few years. To give you an idea, the cost of beach front property (measured by the foot) has increased from $16/ft two years ago to almost $60/ft today. We entertained purchasing a non-beachfront condo a couple of years ago for $175K and today the same sized unit, etc is about $350K. A cinder-block shack built in the 1950s, 1400 sq ft a couple of blocks from the beach will start around $175K and that's a deal. Most homes on PCB a few miles from the beach in developed housing areas exceed $200K. Haven't checked apartment rentals, but know they've increased accordingly. Panama City, otoh, has alot of good apartment rentals if that's what you need.

One other possible problem living on PCB and working in PC hospitals is the traffic that can occur during "rush hour" especially over the Hathaway Bridge. They've recently built two new bridges to replace the old narrow bridge, but the construction for overpasses and intersections on both sides has interrupted traffic repeatedly at the worst times, and will continue to do so for several more years as Florida's in their great lack of foresight only funded the PCB end of the bridge with passovers, etc. The eastern end by the college is a major 3 way intersection with an active railroad crossing interrupting traffic.

One of the beauties of this area in the past was the fact you could live inexpensively and your salary reflected that fact: panhandle salaries are among the lowest in Florida while nursing salaries were pretty good for this area. While companies/hospitals have increased salaries a little bit over the years, the cost of living here is comparable to the NE (I'm from NJ) when you include property tax millage rates, 8% sales tax, utilities, etc. Oh . . .and the gas prices here are as bad as they are anywhere. Average in Panama City is around $2.05 and on Panama City Beach you can add a dime to that. Restaurants are still a good deal with the influx of hundreds of illegal immigrant labor, etc keeping costs down.

That being said, I love it here. I live in Callaway (about 7 miles east of Panama City and about 15 miles from PCB). My three kids finished Gulf Coast CC and moved on to other Fl universities. Saved me $$$ in tuition and all of them are doing very well. Housing affordability is higher than years past but not as bad as PCB and a few other areas. I'm an avid/addicted windsurfer and because I'm retired military, have access to the beaches of Tyndall AFB a couple of miles away so this side of town fits my needs. Housing areas are clean, crime is very low, and people are generally friendly and outgoing.

As for school, GCCC has an outstanding program. All of the instructors have tons of experience (a few have over 35 years each in nursing) and you'll do clinicals in both Bay Medical and Gulf Coast Med Ctr. You'll also do rotations through a few nursing homes and PC's third hospital, Healthsouth Rehab. Great experiences.

Let me know if you have any other questions as I'd be happy to help you out. If I don't hear from you, best of luck.

Phil Morgan

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