I’m in your ‘bookend’, NJ.
We are pretty much in the same position you were in before you moved. We are in the process of looking for our 2 acres, under 350K, non cookie cutter, etc.
We hit a speed bump from the Nor’Easter a few weeks ago and are recovering from the flood; but that just means we will have less stuff to pack when we succeed in finding the 2 acres that meet our criteria. :)
Do not know where that is. My husband is from Mendom / Randolph area, it is so beautiful there. We looked in NJ, but I am a native southern Californian and the thought of real winter was to much.