It just so happens that my wife and I saw the results of living near rivers and creeks when we lived in Colorado and we vowed to never live in low lands where that can happen. When we bought our property here in Oregon, our building place is well up from the local creek and even if the county road gets flooded we'll be safe. We had water here from a spring that was crudely developed, but due to design flaws from the former owner, occasionally large green larva would get stuck in the pressure reducing valve coming into our little trailer, this was because the spring water storage was two 30 gallon galvanized trash cans buried in the ground that were lined with plastic trash can bags. Anyway, I redesigned the whole system and it no longer gets bugs in the line, the only thing I've run across is small freshwater scrimp and that is rather unusual considering the spring pick up is under ground and the storage cistern is covered and screened. Underground lake somewhere in the mountain behind us? Who knows, the scrimp doesn't bother us, it's probably an indicator that our water is pure enough for those creatures to survive. As others have mentioned, water, water, water, the ability to do anything you want to do, defined property lines (survey markers that you can find), an area that you can plant gardens and probably more important than you think, good neighbors. We have great neighbors, we all look out for one an other and they understand how important it is to be well armed. This is not a good area for bad actors! I've had friends that had nightmare neighbors and it just isn't healthy.
Some counties don't allow permanent living structures or residence "off grid". I was going to suggest starting with your desires which you just listed. Then as you find potential properties, you might inquire a little more as to the local laws. Would be awful to get a place and be forced to run power lines in order to live on the land. Also, we actually prefer for sale by owner listings though I know many don't - much less run-around.
However, several special considerations and concerns when buying land need to be addressed before, during, and after buying your property. Take the proper precautions and consult with the right lawyers and professionals. You can greatly reduce the risks and increase the return on your undeveloped land transaction. After all, we all understand that one of the most important aspects is the cost to build. Your budget will need to include money for several steps that most other land and home purchases do not and the total cost of buying land.
