Shawn,
Most of your questions depend soley on what YOU and your family want and your financial resourses. I highly recommend country life but livin off the land does take time, money and lots of work to become a reality. The rewards are infinitely better than anything money can buy!

I have 4 kids 4-16 yo here in central Arkansas. Our children are flourishing here,they are much healthier and happier than they were in St Pete, FL 2-1/2 years ago. They are very active in 4-H, FFA, church' and school. There is nothing else for them to do around here (ie. getting into trouble) I'm not very sociable so I love staying in my "lil hole in the woods" while the best half works in town and has many friends.

Acres of land isn't required unless you are planning on raising large stock like cattle. We prayed for 10 acres with a house on it in the country. Now we have 10 mostly wooded acres with a house on it in the country with no mortgage. You can do alot with a couple acres of pasture. Of course more is better, it's really just what you can afford. when looking for land you should know the installed value of the improvements. Fencing, barns, other outbuildings and most importantly a good exsisting well can cost more to add later than the land cost not to mention work you to death. Most homesteaders tend to go for a fixerupper house on a real nice piece of fenced property. Some,like me, never seem to get around to fixin the house past liveable cause thy're too busy adding more fence and doing other "more important" projects. Everything ends up costing more than you thought it would when you started so DON'T spend all your money buying the place. A strategy that works is to get by on as little as possible and get/stay out of debt. It's alot harder to make money out in the sticks but it can be done in time.

Animals are one of the best parts of homesteading especially for the kids. Some laying hens are the easiest and most productive to start with. Once you are comfortable with your husbandry abilities dairy goats are the greatest critters to have in the family. They more than pay for themselves with white gold (milk) a great base for science experiments (cheese, yogurt, soap and butter) that lead to food for the family and maybe some income too. I don't know how you feel about killing animals (IMO a very natural thing) but, free ranged chicken does taste at least a million times better than storebought Frankenfood and processing them is a great anatomy lesson

To make money on the homestead you really need to find a market for value added products that you can produce. I have found that when I start making decent money from something
it turns into a job and I don't enjoy it anymore which is fine for most folks if they are raking in the bucks. To me homesteading is more about making do with what you have and making what you have do more. Yeah I am a weirdo but I'm happy.
To make money from animals start with good registered breeding stock and have a long term plan. Think small to start with. Rabbits breed like bunnies and can produce income in a relatively short time if there is a processing facility close enough. Goats take awhile to break even but you get milk and kids to sell. Raising cows is very expensive.
GOOD LUCK
OH YEAH, Think REAL HARD before moving over an hour away from a Wal Mart

OH YEAH, Think REAL HARD before moving over an hour away from a Wal Mart.

Is that even possible.
I live in a rural area and there are at least 10 Walmarts
within an hour's driving distance from me.
And a new one is opening in January 5 minutes from me.

Pooh Bear