Wasn't that long ago, but damned if they ain't making it harder to do. Every cheap plot of land I've looked at has such stringent use restrictions it's basically having an invasive landlord with more steps. Homesteading is dead, at least in places i'd consider it.

Not to romanticize it too much. It sucked so bad my partner's mom responded to a trip idea with "what? Fuck no! We lived in a tent for a year, why the fuck would I want to go camping?"

We still are never allowed to 'just go live in the woods' lol