I thought about the original post for a while and came up with several thoughts. Some of them aren't pleasant, but the devil is always in the details.
Water/Septic--had a friend whose kids were always sick after they moved into their rural property. Years later they found out that the septic leach line ran within 10 feet of the water well casing--in California. Even though you're looking for a larger property, some property splits from the 50's and 60's are too small for today's septic standards--we just sold a lot the family owned from the late 70's. If the guy next door to this lot hadn't bought it from us it would have been useless, too small to build a house on unless you had two contiguous lots according to newer standards than when originally split. Building codes have changed over the years, and they aren't always adhered to. Somebody already addressed water quality, well depth and costs earlier.
Power--got lines running next to your intended purchase? Great! Maybe. There are large power transmission lines out west that are DC, I can think of one that runs from Washington to Southern CA that passes close to Reno. Useless for AC power, and do you really want to live that close to a major electromagnetic field? Also, had a friend that wanted to buy 40 rural acres. The local real estate agent says the power line runs within 1/4 mile of the lot he wanted, power is no problem. Until he calls the utility and finds out, yes, it's AC, but there's no substation to step the voltage down. $800,000 will buy you one. The other nearest power lines for residential are 20 miles away. This is the same real estate agent that "didn't know" the water table was 600 feet deep.
Alaska--put your stuff in a container in the Seattle area and ship it to Alaska, then fly or drive. It's done all the time, it will catch up to you.
Self employment tax--pretty sure the person that referenced this when discussing Wyoming was referring to the 15.3% FICA/Medicare taxes which you would be paying anyway to the Federal Treasury Dept.
Use Taxes--you purchase $100k of equipment shipped to you from out of state? You owe Use taxes equal to the Sales tax rates, payable when Sales tax returns are due, usually monthly. You owe it even if you bought it in state and the seller didn't charge you. The sales tax auditors will eventually get to you--then you'll pay penalties and interest, too. This assumes your new state has Sales taxes, most do.
Local ordinances--many rural areas are lax on knowledge and enforcement of local ordinances until someone complains or someone runs across something that hasn't come up in a while. Mike Bellm had a business in Oregon chambering Thompson Center barrels and other non FFL work for years, then testing them on his property (I just looked for the story on bellmtcs.com but the web site has changed over the years and I can't find it.) Everyone shot on their property in that area. Some new family moves in with their chronically under-employed 30-something son that lives at home and likes to spend his time playing dog frisbie with his several dogs. They didn't like gunfire and complained. The ordinances didn't allow for business use of Mike's property the way he was using it, and I'm guessing he couldn't get a waiver or change the ordinance. Just make sure you know as much as you can about the area before you put your money down.
If this sounds cynical, too bad--anyone trying to sell you something has a vested interest in presenting it in the most positive manner possible. Selective editing of facts is unfortunately a way of life. You ARE at a disadvantage by being from out of state. Just think of all the polished turds that you see at gun shows with high prices and stories of just how "special this gun is" if you need any more confirmation of this.
;D
