I'm 56, and recently bought 10 acres to retire to. I'd like to provide some advice/tips that may help:
-Don't wait for the 'perfect' property. You will age out of this being a possibility before you do. There is always going to be some sort of negative when you're looking for land, based on trying to do so for 10 years. Price, utilities, taxes, distance from town, weather, etc. Instead, focus on what the most critical TO YOU needs are. Do you want a place 30 minutes from the nearest town of 10,000 people? Can you work there, or are you going to have to actually drive 1+ hours to work every day? Are you in poor health? How far is the nearest hospital, and how often will you need to go to the doctor?
-Determine what cheap means to you. To me, 5,000 an acre was my top dollar, and it required several things already be present. If you don't care about water or electric, maybe your budget is 2k an acre. If you're a millionaire, maybe 50k an acre is a good price.
-Once you know your, say, top 3 needs are, and what your top dollar for that is, it makes it a lot easier to narrow down your search.
-For me, it was critical for it to not be land-locked, that it have the potential to have an address, have ready access to water, not have code enforcement, and be within 30 minutes of a hospital.
-A lot of people think you can only get a land loan. If you go through a local bank, you'll find you can get a short mortgage even for empty land. I got a 10 year mortgage for 40k.
-Do not discount the value of having some sort of water and electricity on the property. You'll be shocked to discover how often you need water for something besides drinking. Setting up a misting station, mixing concrete, etc. Having a power pole somewhere, preferably with an outlet or two on it is a huge help, and it gives you a point from which to plan. It's at least 2k to have a pole installed otherwise. Even if you plan to use solar, power at the start let's you get a lot more done till you're ready.
-When figuring out how long something will take to do, be very conservative, then double that time. Buying lumber, putting in piers, building a shed, removing a stump; everything will take a lot longer than you think it will.
-Prepare for pain. In my head I think "okay, now I just need to put the sides on my shed, then if I have time I'll start on the roof". About the 10th panel, after lugging it over, scooching it up the wall, holding it with one hand while aiming the nail gun and attaching it, your arms will feel like jelly and your legs will be shaking. In your head the simple activities discounts the effects of holding a heavy nail gun up, or the impact of climbing a ladder up and down dozens of times. Get in the best shape you can before you start.
-Figure out your minimum shelter and aim for that first. If your minimum is the A-frame, that means you won't be sleeping there till it's built. Every time you're going to work on it you'll need to plan around the weather, give up for the day if it rains/snows, etc. For example, my 'minimum' is a 16x16 shed I'm stick building. The logic is that it gives us a functional building later, and we could sleep in it overnight/during rain showers, etc. Is it the home I always wanted to build? No, but it gives us something to work from. And if I happened to lose my job? I'm good, I can make that work. I have minimal needs. On the other hand I've got a buddy that's high maintenance. His minimum is a 2000 sf house, built by a contractor. He's also got hundreds of thousands of dollars, so that works for him.
