Hi, you may wish to study up on Washington County NY. Rural/agricultural history, organic farms making headroads, proximity to larger cities (Saratoga, Albany, Glens Falls, Manchester VT). Ticks are certainly present here but avoidable with care. Worth checking out, good luck. ps, i grew up in fulton county and unless things have changed recently, there is rural land available that could be potentially farmed, but it is mostly a depressed former leather tanning county soaked in industrial waste and ignorance.