Assuming I had an empty nest, and didn't have to work anymore, and this was the house I was going to be at for the rest of my life and didn't have to consider cashing out in the future, I'd build a 3 bedrrom 1500-1800sq/ft cabin similar to Rob's place, and then buy at least 200 acres surrounding it, and then spend the rest of the $$$ on the equipment and a good wildlife biologist to start a solid QDMA program. The key here would be living on the land though.......I wouldn't do this in the northeast unless I could live right there. I'm fortunate to have the property I do in PA, but being 4 hours from it kills me, and limits my ability to patrol and manage it the way I really want to. 'm simply not there enough to do more than I do today, and even what I do now really is a large time and $$$ burden because of the travel.

If I couldn't live on the land, I'd buy a small modest patch (50ish acres) with a similar cabin, and then save the $$$ for leasing of land in the midwest, and travel to better places for most of my hunting with the small patch at home to keep me busy between trips.