Living In Steinhatchee
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5/20/2008
Living in Steinhatchee is not for everyone. There are no shopping malls, no supermarkets, no chain restaurants (except for our nice waterfront Hungry Howie's that is not your typical Hungry Howie's), and the heat/humidity/bugs in summer are a challenge to say the least. On the other hand if you truly enjoy living a simple life with peace and quiet all around, if you love waking up to nothing but the sounds of birds, and if you want to go walking or biking with relative safety compared to the rest of Florida, then you might be happy here. The crime rate is listed as 5 but I can tell you that it is as safe a place as it gets. I suppose if you go looking for trouble like by hanging out at the local bars late at night and scrabbling with some of the local element then okay it's there but that's up to you. We have four restaurants at present - one called Lynn /Rich is a home cookin' type establishment and is generally open for breakfast and lunch. Another is Roys, located right where the Steinhatchee river joins the Gulf with great views and very good food including an extensive salad bar. Roy's is open for lunch and dinner and I believe you can get beer and wine these days. Then there is Fiddler's, slightly more upscale than Roy's and has a full bar inside. Food is very good with a nice ambiance and they are open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Then we have the afore mentioned Hungry Howies where you can dine inside or out on the deck overlooking the river. Good pizza and subs (subs are more like calzones than subs actually) and drinks including beer in the cooler. Also business-wise we have an Ace hardware, Dollar General, JIffy convenience store, and Mason's Market, a small yet complete grocery that does not gouge on pricing. And I love our newish and wonderful wine and spirits store called Riverside Spirits. Also there are a couple of nice gift shops, fresh produce stand in summer, bait and tackle stores, full service marinas (fishing is huge here), and others. I have lived in Steinhatchee for 11 years without a car (bike or walk instead) and have not left town for eight months. I can order via the Internet anything that I can not purchase locally so I do quite well thank you. Summer is the worst in my opinion because of the excessive heat and humity, the threat of hurricanes, and the influx of visitors. Scalloping season brings a lot of people in big SUVs pulling big boats so I'm always glad for that to get over with. Fall and spring a
Gretchen | Steinhatchee, FL