system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5: what's stopping me from buying a large area of land and founding my own town?
gpt
More than anything money. If you are in the United States for the most part there is nothing legally stopping you. You would need to have something to attract a population of some sort or already have a population. Go through the proper legal routes for your state, set up any required infrastructure or services. Among other things. 
I suppose you could probably do it if even with no population but that would be most likely pointless. 

There's nothing stopping you. You would just need enough money to do it.