a LOT of it is situational. the first thing you need to do is look at the land near you available for sale. if your family is near you, it's unlikely that you're going to want to move too far away, so you're basically going to have to deal with the land quality near you.
near me, land has problem with getting waterlogged. there's not enough sand and whatnot in the soil for water to run through easily. why does this matter? because it affects wells, farming and building.
for wells, if topsoil (literally the top of the soil, the part you see) retains water, less passes through to the groundwater so your wells recharge slower. which means you either need a deeper well or multiple wells if it's too low. OR you could collect rainwater to supplement it, depending upon the laws for that in your area.
for farming, it means you have to add aggregate to your soil. which literally is just shit like sand, gravel, etc. so water can get to roots and so plants don't drown in it when it does get to it. waterlogged soil = moldy plants. but your soil might have different problems. personally, i learned through trial and error trying to grow food in my apartment in a plastic tote filled with soil i collected from outside. i studied the problems the plants had, documented them. by the time i saved up enough money, i was aware of everything i needed to know. i recommend you do the same. i would say "read a fucking book" but if you're working that much, you honestly won't have time. or what time you will have, you'll rather spend doing things you enjoy.
for building, it means i had to waterproof my shit. you should waterproof it anyway, but if i didn't then i would 100% get flooding based on my house design.
so to reiterate, your first step is research on your region. part of that is physically going outside, getting some soil and figuring out what the fuck you're looking at. an important note here is that NO ONE, i repeat NO ONE in normie life knows anything about any of this and will think you're fucking crazy. don't try to signal your knowledge to look cool.
step two is planning. you need to look up the cost of all your materials and over the time you're working, calibrate your design. minimize expenses. this is what sets this process apart from typical construction – usually, contractors throw together a design overnight or otherwise in a short period of time. you have a full fucking year. your result will be extremely cost and time efficient.
