Instead of hiring a realtor, maybe try Zillow.com or Realtor.com? Your average realtor spends 90% of their time finding their next client and 10% of their time providing services to their existing clients. That's what you're paying for. You don't even need a realtor for closing.
Also, I'm seconding
@former player 's note about having to drive everywhere. Your transportation expenses will skyrocket when you go rural/small town and what used to be minor errands (quick grocery run, visiting friends, getting the car serviced, picking up something from the home improvement store, etc.) will suddenly have turnaround times over 2 hours.
If your car in Milwaukee gets broken into less than twice per year at a cost of less than $500 per breakin, you'll almost certainly spend more money on that car traveling several thousand more miles per year along rural highways. You'll also spend more time driving one or two hundred more hours per year than dealing with such messes.
As you think about high taxes, don't forget to account for things like pumping your septic tank, paying extra for rural trash pickup, higher odds of long utility outages so you buy and maintain a generator, higher bids from contractors, potentially higher homeowner's insurance, propane delivery, well maintenance if you have a well, and more vulnerability to things like the price of gas, tires, and new vehicles.
I also second the idea of getting specific about what you want to do and only buying as much dirt as it takes to accomplish that goal. A quarter-acre garden is practically a part-time job. A big workshop with driveway or a chicken yard takes about an eighth acre. A nice little orchard can be had in two to four acres. Etc. A city or suburban house that includes the empty lot next to it can meet most needs unless you want large livestock and unless surrounding buildings shade it.
So many people buy a several-acre lot and then realize they "need" a $15,000 zero-turn mower to cut all that grass. Next thing you know their whole lives revolve around "caring for" a patch of dirt and between that and driving it becomes an obsession that eats more money and time than city inconveniences ever did.
