I think you are going to drive farther than 30 miles to get to a "city" If a large town is ok then you might make it in your price range for 10 ac and a house. You might have to think more $$ and or farther out. There is land near here that is going for 600/ac +-, but it really isnt near anything, and has no value in timber or mineral rights.
Land has gone UP a lot in the last 5 years. When you are buying acreage, it kinda goes like this:
1-3 20-30K/ac
3-7 15-20K/ac
7-15 7-12K/ac
15-25 4-6K/ac
25+ anywhere from 500-4000/ac
I looked for a LOOOONG time to find mine. 6 months after I bought it I saw the realtor and he said I could double my money. If you want big acreage, be ready to BUY the day you walk it if it is in a decent area. It goes fast.
Oh, and get the old guy as your realtor, he might actually understand the "acreage" is not a 3 acre lot. I went through 7 realtors because they dont listen to the buyer, they want to sell the development homes and make a fast buck. The guy we FINALLY got that actually understood that LAND does not equal LOT, got his cut for about 3 days work.