There's something to be said for subdivisions. They come with a lot of conveniences, and eventually the good ones turn into nice neighbourhoods. I don't know your area. I know my home province pretty well, from the metropolitan areas around lake Ontario, up the St Lawrence corridor to Quebec, or south east to north shore of Lake Erie, up to the Ottawa Valley and the near north. Regrettably I have not explored the true north, but there are still enough affordable parcels in the lands between that I have seriously entertained building a retreat somewhere near a waterway/woods, between rural and wild space.
I think I've come up with a few options that could get a smallish cottage built under $50,000. I have three design ideas more than superficially plotted that could get it done.
Cheapest may be to span a roof section over two parallel or splayed 40' or 53' high cube shipping containers, giving between 600 and 1200 sqft depending on budget and design, possibly with a bit of an atrium over a portion of the span. Next option involves using a Quonset hut into a bit of a Gothic peak, sort of a different take on an A-frame. And lastly an actual A frame using a hybrid of timber frame and stick built construction techniques, maybe even gluelams or some sort of LVL/PSL arrangements. This doesn't need to be too expensive if kept relatively modest/focused.
I'll post a few the inspirations I found as I researched and evolved my ideas.
Could use a gothic quonset to achieve something like
this
Ayfraym does the A-Frame in a beautiful, if expensive, kit home concept,
here. I can't replicate what they do on a shoe string budget, but, I can make a pretty cool cabin using the same ideas for a lot less.
Finally, the shipping container ideas here, of which there are many from mild to wild:
Just one example.