"Why so far out? Why so much land?", you ask?
First off, my 5 acres in the sub-suburbs was no more than a big yard, and the 40 acre parcel is nice sized, but still isn't that much land. Of course, 1/4 mile square may seem like a lot to a townhome dweller with no yard at all, but if your ideal environment is peace, quiet and nature, those property lines tighten up in a hurry.
As far as "that far out" is concerned, there are a few motivators. The 5 acre place was just outside the main metro suburbs, so it was too close to the noise and traffic for me. The 40 acre property is definitely off the beaten path, so I think it'll work out. A property that size closer to a metro area is extremely expensive. As metro areas grow out and out to an obnoxious "urban sprawl", land is pushed to premium prices. Land developers (commercial and residential) pay several thousand dollars per acre for what was tillable farm land or pasture not long ago. While searching for my property, even in some areas as far out as I am now, I came across actual farm fields for sale as residential lots or development property. Several of these parcels still had crops growing, without a tree in sight, and the prices were still $2500-$3000 per acre!
Now, regarding neighbors...It probably won't come as a shock to you, but I haven't had great luck so far. In St. Paul, the guys across the alley were friendly enough - but had a race car they liked to tune quite often. The property to my west was a VFW club (need I say more?), and to the east a retired WWII vet. He wasn't a bad guy, but was certainly particularly about his lawn and sidewalk. He didn't like it if my lawn mower snipped even a blade of his grass, and when he got out his huge snowblower in the winter he made sure to stop exactly at the property line. I was sure things would be better in the outskirts of the metro, which I called the sub-suburbs...I was wrong.
In East Bethel I had no neighbors on the surrounding 40 acres for a couple years, which was very nice - although my house did get burglarized once. When I did get my first neighbor, you couldn't have asked for a better way to ruin things. He was constantly trying to encroach on my property, even to the point of moving the survey marker posts (blatantly illegal, if you were wondering). He also enjoyed 15' bonfires in his yard and music as loud as his boom box would allow. Now I like a bonfire as much as the next guy, but if it's high enough and hot enough to melt some of your siding, you may want to tone it down. Plus, any bonfire over 3' high is illegal in that area...which he found out after the sheriff stopped by one evening. The next neighbors that came along built their house so close to mine that I could barely breathe. That was pretty much it for me, and I started the search for the larger acreage I'd always wanted. Neighbors have to be better way out in the country, right? Well, yes and no.
I bought 40 acres out of 100 that was for sale all in a cluster. The closest neighbors were a very nice family on a horse farm about a mile east and a nice couple about a mile west - they're going to be great neighbors. Their property is the last place to have electricity for a 3 mile stretch west. The couple to the west, on the north side of the road, runs their home on a generator and battery bank. There are a couple hunting properties between mine and the east neighbors, but used so infrequently I didn't meet the owners until after a year of owning my place. Some other neighbors scattered around the general area are very nice also...so I was finally having some good luck! A 20-acre parcel was purchased 1/8 mile to my west (leaving an empty 20 between us), and he made it into a "splat ball" (or "paint ball") course. He's also a nice guy, and as is around as infrequently as the hunting crowd. Then came the first neighbors that planned to build a [full-time] home, about a half mile west of me, on the other (south) side of the county road.
They're a pleasant retired couple that just sold a lake resort they had owned and operated for many years. They mentioned something about planning to be "snow birds", which I guess means they'll be leaving for a few months each winter to visit Arizona or New Mexico somewhere warm like that. I get the impression they are going to build a 3-season home on their 40 acres, and they are having the same fight with the electric company that I did. As you may recall, it was going to cost me $18,000 for electricity, which sealed the deal on my going "off-grid". This couple had no interest in that sort of thing, which is understandable (it's not for everyone!), and since they're another half mile down from me, it was going to cost them around $22,000 (ouch!). He's been trying rally the few land owners in the area to chip in, mentioning that it will benefit all of us (i.e. raised property values, etc.). He did manage to negotiate a much better deal with the electric "co-op" than I had ($16,000 to his property), but so far only one other owner (the splat ball guy) has commited to assist. He was a little insistent with me about contributing - I'm not sure about the other land owners. I think he was upset with me for awhile when I declined - even though I explained my plans (solar, wind, etc.). More power to them (no pun intended) if they want utility electricity, but he knows my position and hasn't bugged me about it lately. I did end up commiting to chip in a couple grand in the future if I decide to hook into it, so that may have helped ease any tension. I've visited with them a few times since, and think I think they're going to be good neighbors, too.
The most recent land owner is my next-door neighbor, with whom I got off on the very wrong foot. (See Property Boundary Warning) for more on that mess. Needless to say, if I were to consider him a neighbor (he's not around enough to matter), I would have to say he's not going to be a good one at all. The deeded owner of that property is a younger guy, not even 30, and he seems like a pretty good guy. His dad is the guy that's being an enormous jerk, and has been knocking heads with me literally from the second I met him.
The moral of the story is that no matter where you go, you can't hand-pick good neighbors or avoid bad ones. You can, however, insulate against them with some acreage, a lot of trees and a good driveway gate.
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