12/12/2005
Panama City is a nice, quiet town that is quite different from its tourist-oriented Panama City Beach neighbor. Panama City is older and more established. Traffic is light compared to a big city. The biggest problem is the smell. PC has a paper mill right down on the water. When the wind is out of the north, the smell blows out over the water and everything is fine. But, if the wind is coming out of the south, which happens almost everytime we get rain off the gulf, the smell will knock you down. A good whiff can burn your sinuses and make your eyes water. Oddly enough, the people that work in the mill can't smell it. I guess it all goes up the smoke stacks. In spite of the odor, it doesn't appear to have any serious health risks. The statistics for breathing/lung problems are actually below or near the national averages.
If you're looking for the big city, this ain't it. The biggest city within driving distance is Tallahassee, which is about 2 hours away, and Tallahassee isn't big. Jacksonville is the closest. It's about 4 to 5 hours away.