You want a "hunting camp"... at least that was what everyone called that in the oldy days.
A bunch of acres, and either a flat spot for a camper or a small cabin on it.
A friend of mine bought 10 acres with a cabin on it in southern Vermont. Great spot... near the southern border so only a couple hours to get to it, withing reasonable distance of stores, but far enough in the woods driving up dirt road not much more than logging roads so you do very much feel like you are out in the woods away from everything. Cabin doesn't have electricity, but previous owner ran propane lines in it for lights, refrig, and stove. Just attach a 20 or 30lb tank outside the cabin. A very old hand dug well up the hill from the cabin provides gravity fed water, so it has running water - which allows it to have a real toilet! There is a "backup" outhouse that we use during dry seasons when the well is low on water.
He has owned that a little over ten years now. We've had fun up there. We have helped him with brush clearing, cutting trees / firewood, mowing the lawn areas. Now, he is tired of it and wants to sell, but due to location and no utilities (and no power lines anywhere near it) he has had no offers. Two other similar cabins in the area have been for sale for 15 years, but they only have 3-5 acres of land each.
My friend had wanted to buy land "out there" forever, and finally did it. But... working on it everytime he was up there, the same place everytime, and he is just a "do it once, on to another thing" type of guy.
Down the road a ways from his cabin is a small bit of land that two guys bought and put two travel trailers on. It is truly a "hunting camp", as they basically only stay there during hunting season. I don't know what arrangement they have with each other, but every fall they return there for a couple weeks to hunt. Not a bad setup - they have electric, being near power lines, and the small bit of land is easy to maintain and low property tax. They are in the middle of good hunting land, so a 5 minute drive up a variety of dirt roads puts them in prime areas.
Hard to tell what is better - an actual cabin or a camper on land.
Watch out for zoning laws and property taxes. Where my friends place is in Vermont, the small town's only source of budget money is property taxes - so they are surprisingly high if you are not a full time resident (I don't know how it all works). And the town hall checks up on property, especially that owned by out of staters.
Zoning / building codes - just because everyone in the area ignores any codes, that doesn't mean they don't exist. Long time property owners are probably "grandfathered" regarding codes, but new owners and/or new construction may be required to follow codes / laws. It may not be a problem, until a bank researches the property for a loan or you want to sell the property.
My son, who is doing well with his career, has sort of debated buying our friend's cabin and land... but he realizes the work involved, and is not sure yet.
I look at a cabin and land similar to a boat or a pool.... Great when a friend owns it!
Wife and I have looked around a bit, but haven't found what we want. My friend's place is great, but it is actually a very hilly area with few flat areas (no place for our camper when we go up there), and not as much acreage as we would like.
(oof, long post... need more coffee)
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2021 F150 2.7
2004 21' Forest River Surveyor
