Developed by ITT Community Development Corporation (Levitt) in 1969, the original development plan encompassed 48,000 home sites on approximately 42,000 acres (17,000 ha) of the 68,000 acres (28,000 ha) owned by ITT. Paved streets and central water and sewer served all lots developed within the plan. An extensive water management system was designed to replenish the area’s water table, which includes 46 miles (74 km) of freshwater canals and 23 miles (37 km) of saltwater canals. On October 29, 1970, ITT built Palm Coast’s welcome center. This date is now celebrated as Founder’s Day (Wikipedia)
St. Augustine was established some time before (1565) and is the nations oldest continuously occupied city. There is not as much uniformity as there is in palm coast as there are residential sections mixed with commercial retail. You cant build over 3 stories in St Augustine and other restrictions are primarily going to be within an HOA. St Augustine is more Coastal than Palm Coast.
Palm Coast is very similar to Hilton Head in terms of looks. Tons of Golf Courses stretch through single family residences. The beach and intracoastal. Also the rules and regulations of the town. Palm Coast has a couple of different rules that govern the whole city. They have rules on signage for businesses; for example if you Owned “Toms Painting” and had a decal on the side of your Van, you would have to either park it in the garage, or cover up your advertising. The City of Palm Coast also services the Lift Stations that are individual to the home.
St Augustine has a feel similar to Charleston is you have ever been there; just smaller. In St. Augustine if you have a lift station that would be your responsibility. If you are not in an HOA community you can park whatever you would like in your driveway. RVS, Boats, Trailers; commercial vehicles. HOA’s are each going to have specific rules on what they allow.
Most of Palm Coast is Detached 3bed 2 ba home with a 2 car garage sitting on an 80 x 125 lot. Public Sewer, Public Water. Prices for homes are going to be in the 300-500k range; though you can find homes under 300k as well.
St Augustine is not as uniform as Palm Coast and has a good mix of different size single family, townhomes and condos. Palm Coast does have some of this as well but it is a notable difference. Prices in St. Augustine are going to be a little bit more expensive; Palm Coast you get more bang for your buck.
Nightlife/Restaurants/Bars – Palm Coast is situated South of St. Augustine and North of Daytona Beach and is a suburb of both places. West of Flagler Beach and is apart of Flagler County. They don’t have the most bumping entertainment scene in Palm Coast. St. Augustine, Flagler Beach or Daytona Beach would be the destination if you are looking for a nice night out. If you are looking to stay in Palm Coast they do have European village which is a condo/commercial building that looks like a little village. They have shops, offices and restaurants and a very cool environment.
Outdoors – In Palm Coast there are more than 40 parks and preserves, as well as 90+ miles of trails for hiking, biking and paddling. Plenty of places to go fishing, boating, kayaking. You can bike all over town relatively easily. 18 miles of beaches. I actually go down to Palm Coast to do some mountain biking because they have the best trails in the area.
Outdoors in St Augustine is going to be very similar. There are more public boat ramps in St. Augustine but that is probably because of the location of the town and the Matanzas River. I prefer the beaches in St. Augustine but that is because it is closer to me and I like to drive on the beach.
Work – Tourism Industry is Large but the largest employer in Flagler County is Government Employment followed by the school district. Other major employers are going to be Palm Coast Data, Florida Flagler Hospital, Publix, Hammock Beach, Supermarket. This is almost identical to St Augustine. Tourism is a large employer as well as Healthcare, Government employment.
