Are mice always going to be a problem?

Grew up in a home near the woods in the pierogi pocket of the US. Not the wilderness by any means but woods.

One thing I always noticed was the rampant mice and consequently their droppings.

Spiders, snakes, other small rodents… never bothered me. It’s just when mice get into the toolboxes/rv silverware drawers and use it as their bathroom that it gets to me..

Now it’s time to think about purchasing/building my own home. Something with some property is ideal. But is this just always going to be the case? Are there ways to mitigate when it comes to design i.e. building house a decent ways from the woods itself?

Edit: always had cats too and the problem didn’t seem to stop. Even had stray mom that kept getting pregnant and producing more soldiers.

*Also, more looking for tips as far as how to choose/build a home less likely of mice, not so much get rid of them.