Has anyone here hired an architect remotely? I live in a rural area and there are zero good designers nearby. I'm worried about how it works if they aren't on-site.
Yes, it's very common now. As long as you have a local surveyor for the topography, the architect can do everything else remotely. I've heard good things about https://en.architector.tech . They work digitally and can communicate via Zoom/Email. The quality of design is usually much higher than what you find in small rural towns.