Palm Beach Atlantic University, WPB

Palm Beach Atlantic University has a gorgeous, tropical campus, just steps from amazing downtown WPB and also the intracoastal waterway! The location is just perfect! Students can walk straight out the campus, over the Royal Park Bridge, and be on Palm Beach Island where a beach of turquoise water and white sand, Midtown Beach, is located! On the island there are walkways past mansions with lush gardens, South Lake Trail and North Lake Trail. There is a lovely garden called Society of the Four Arts Gardens, right over the bridge from the campus! The island, Palm Beach, is filled with ridiculously rich elderly people who glare at outsiders, which is the only downside. Worth Avenue is the epicenter of this culture (it is so beautiful with its Spanish arches- what a shame there's such a bad vibe).

The PBA campus itself is located in West Palm Beach though, which has a younger, more diverse crowd.
On the eastern edge of the campus is Flagler Drive, a long walkway on the intracoastal that people run, rollerblade, and walk along. It connects with West Palm Beach Waterfront, one block north. Of all the Florida colleges, PBA has the most incredible location by far! West Palm Beach also has the least mosquitoes compared to other Florida towns, because the mangroves have been replaced with concrete, which surprisingly is a very good thing (less mosquitoes makes for a healthy population who can enjoy the outdoors).
The main part of PBA is Rinker Greens, from Sailfish Dining (where everyone gathers at lunchtime to eat indoors or outside) to Sachs Hall. This stretch of green is beautiful, with tropical flowers and trees galore! The rest of the campus has less shade and plants. For $12, you can buy a buffet lunch at Sailfish Dining (yellow rice, beans, and all manner of choices), and sit outside watching the students come and go. There is also a coffee shop with smoothies inside Sailfish Dining. You would expect the campus bookstore to be here too, but it is along Dixie Highway in the Nursing building and doesn't have much to look at really. From campus there are fantastic views of the West Palm Beach skyline with its fairytale buildings. On the southern edge of campus is Norton Museum of Art, which has special exhibits and a small garden.
PBA has some great concerts (dance, Jazz, symphony, choir) at DeSantis Family Chapel and Rinker Hall, including a Piano festival in February. Check their website for events.
A small Christian college, PBA has flags with bible verses along its walkways, and an evangelical Christian curriculum. It has 4000 students, with more women than men. Half the student population comes from out of state, mostly the northeast, which makes it exciting.
If you're not a Christian at PBA, it could be hard to fit in. It's too bad there is not a secular college in Florida with such a great location. A college with a beach location but not nearly as cool of a town is Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton (no running paths along the water, no main downtown area with a cool vibe, but a gorgeous beach). And then, of course, there's University of Florida at Gainesville, which also doesn't have a cool downtown but does have a very happening and beautiful campus and magical springs nearby to swim in, just as wonderful as a beach. A college with a small, cozy feel is New College of Florida in Sarasota- also located on the intracoastal, but on the west side of Florida where the beaches are beautiful but somewhat polluted with red tide. Sarasota doesn't have a cool downtown, but does have a small main street area with lots of retirees but some occasional young people from Ringling College of Art and Design, and from New College of Florida.
Just remember there are two seasons in Florida: hot and hotter. You have to really like hot weather to live here, which is fine with me because I like wearing skirts and flip flops! Summer can be depressing though, so head home for those months if you're from out of state!

Palm Beach Atlantic University, WPB

Directions

Comments