Zombie Outbreak - where to hide?

[Kheti sa-Menik]

I've come to the determination that if zombies happen, I should proably just kill myself and get it over with. There's no way I'd survive.

--I'm not the hero or the badass. I have no skill with weapons and am not athletic, so I won't be able to kill them off in droves before I get chewed up. And I won't look cool, either.
--I'm not the love interest. I'm not a svelte beauty or the girl next door. Ladies with poor complextions do not survive zombie attacks.
--I don't really do well in emotionally stressful situations. I don['t like being scared, and when I get very upset, my chest, head and ears feel funny. I'd probably freeze up in terror if a zombie was coming at me.

All in all, I have nothing going for me. I won't make it to the end of the movie, so why bother fighting to stay alive through the first wave? It just prolongs the experience and makes my last few days full of fear and discomfort. Even for the people that make it, there's usually nothing good waiting for them after the credits roll. Eking out a perilous existance in a post-zombie society doesn't sound like my cup of tea. I think I'd be better off having a friend take me out fast and clean.

<snip>

Holy crap. Now I'm depressed.
Remember, there's always hope.

But hey, I'm pretty good in a crisis and I know a few things, so "Come with me if you want to live."

 

[JDJblatherings]

ITo die of thirst in 3 days or less assumes that one drinks no fluid. In a worst case scenario, you can fill a bathtub with about 50 gallons of water, the toilet resevior is good for 2 - 10 more gallons. You fill every pot, pan, bottle and ziplock bag with water while its still safe.

When water isn't safe, bleach it and let it air out for 24 hours before drinking. There is no reason for any intelligent human being with access to any plumbing in the hours at the beginning of a disaster to not take these kinds of precautions.

I have two weeks of food and water year round, when I am not expecting a disaster. After the utter and total failure of FEMA its the least I can do.

I have an emergency cache myself but my home is totally unacceptable as a zombie-apocalypse refuge. I have water purifying tabs and other such stuff, but If I'm in my attic becasue the zombies came shuffling out of the graveyard a 1/2 mile away I'm screwed.

 

[KenSeg]

One of the advantages of living in Florida are the steel accordian shutters I have on all my windows. Lock them up, grab my 12 guage shotgun and I am ready to rock and roll baby!

-KenSeg
No ones zombie butt-monkey!

 

[Umbran]

And Max Brooks is a hack. The Zombie Survival Guide is somewhat entertaining, but when reading it I found not a few mis-judgments and errors (IMO). I haven't gotten around to reading WWZ yet, but probobally will soon since I've run out of good zombie books and even read a couple that are horrid.

Dude, if you haven't read WWZ, your opinion of Mr. Brooks' writing is... woefully uninformed.

I can hunt and farm the land myself.

Mayhaps, if you are already a farmer, so that you already have the equipment and seed available.

I think, when the zombie hordes are marching, you'll have other fish to fry than trying to get a plow and something to pull it up into some mountain meadow...

 

[Jim Hague]

And Max Brooks is a hack. The Zombie Survival Guide is somewhat entertaining, but when reading it I found not a few mis-judgments and errors (IMO). I haven't gotten around to reading WWZ yet, but probobally will soon since I've run out of good zombie books and even read a couple that are horrid.

It's a fictional universe, and the book's based off of military survival manuals. Misjudgements how?

Also Day by Day Armageddon by J.L. Bourne. This is a novel written in a journal format. The link leads to an online version of the first month of events. DO NOT purchase this book via Amazon or Ebay at this time. The author has signed to a new publisher and is re-releasing a new printing. The first run is currently going for $80+ and In Bournes own words, it's just not worth that much money.

I'll second his words - having lived in San antonio and central Texas for most of my life, his descriptions of the area are...pretty laughable. As well, his portrayal of a sterotypical 'special forces weapons expert' protagonist are weak sauce, IMO. Zombie survival fiction is about ordinary people in horrifying, extraordinary circumstances. While the story has some interesting bits, it falls down badly in several areas as far as verisimillitude goes.

Dave Wellman's 'Monster' series is an interesting take on a Rise. Available for free, but I heartily encourage people to grab the books.

 

[TwinBahamut]

I agree that an island like Hawaii would be best.

I don't buy the arguments that a zombie can just walk all the way under the ocean to some remote island. The resistance of water just makes it hard to walk, no matter what you are. Even if they made it to the bottom (since they might just float), it is the bottom where many of the deep-sea carrion eaters like crabs and lobsters live. Who cares if fish or sharks might stay away from zombies, since crabs and snails can smell rotting flesh from miles away and would swarm any zombies.

And being on an island like Hawaii is good because you have a community with an infrastructure to back you up. Thousands of people vs. zombies is a lot safer than 1 person vs. zombies. Another good feature of Hawaii is that, no matter what, zombies can't walk through burning lava. Also, even if zombies could get there somehow, it would take long enough for you to have time to build coastal defenses.

So, I say kick your feet up and wait on a tropical island until the inevitable zombie-eating bacteria evolves naturally and completely destroys them. Zombies, not having immune systems, would be easy prey to such a thing. Hurrah for War of the Worlds-style endings!

 

[TheYeti1775]

*snip*
On the other hand, if we're talking survival in a post apocolyptic world after most of the population has been wiped out by a mysterious illness (chicken flu, anyone?), I have all kinds of plans ready for that.

Squirrel?
-------------------------
As far as surviving the WWZ, population centers would be the furtherest thing from me. Assuming I survived the initial hit, I would be firing up the XJ and heading to my Bug-Out Location.

For you ones thinking your going to get your guns and all at Wally World and the like, apparently most of you haven't been in some of the city Wal-Marts that no longer sell firearms. Very few near population centers do anymore.
And honestly, running to get your supplies after the initial hit put you in the category of sheple in some people's terms. In Zombie terms - cattle.

A 30day supply is easy to maintain even in an apartment. Bottle Water stacks and transports nicely when you buy by the case. Food while not Filet Mignon, you can have food that can sustain you for quite some time. All fitting into one closet.

The biggiest issue for a Zombie Attack, is where do you rest when they don't have too?
Prisions was a suggestion, and I would be hard pressed to disagree as they are defensible. You do have to deal with the original residents though.
Corporate Office Buildings would have possiblities, but for one thing. Your supplies, as mentioned cutting off access points is possible except most of those stairways would require some major work to blockade as they are fire escapes made as part of the structual support and to resist their immediate destruction.
Mall - most have large 'glass' entrances, 'nuff said there.
Old Church - definite possiblities as the older ones are built on the fortress concept. Just have to worry about if they have reachable windows.
National Guard Armory - Weapons and tend to have some supplies. But low counts of ammo. Then there is the fact if they let you in or not.

Best case join a MAG (Mutual Assistance Group) and plan accordingly for all scenarios you wish.

 

[Zaruthustran]

Hawaii sounds like the best bet to me. Even if a zombie somehow decides to walk into the ocean, navigate thousands of miles in total sensory deprivation, traverse numerous trenches, survive crabs and fish, withstand currents, continue moving its limbs despite tremendous density / water resistance, and not rot away--he still has to climb THE TALLEST MOUNTAIN ON EARTH.

The TALLEST mountain on earth, measured from base to summit is the volcanic peak of Mauna Kea, one of five volcanic masses making up the "Big Island"of Hawaii. It is about 9,000 m (30,000 ft) tall, however only 4,245 m (13,796 ft) of that is above sea level.

The danger being, of course, that if zombies can pop up in Iowa, they can certainly pop up in Hawaii. In that case, I'd hole up in a Costco in Hawaii, with roof access. Nice thing about the islands is that there's plenty of rain, which solves your most urgent and pressing need: drinking water. Build a rooftop farm using Costco's thousands of pounds of gardening soil and seed, and take advantage of the endless growing season.

Just seal the entrance--literally weld it shut, with a blowtorch--and you're good to go. Should you ever need to reach the surface, just use a rope ladder (Costco carries fire escape rope ladders).

No guns in Costco, but that's okay. Makeshift polearms from garden tools are safer and don't jam or run out of ammo.

 

[Zaruthustran]

As an aside, has anyone noticed the perfection of modern townhouses, in terms of zombie resistance? The townhomes in my area (Seattle) tend to be tall, with the entire first floor being a windowless garage. The entrance to the main living area (the second story) is up a 8' to 10' stairway. And most of the high-end townhomes feature brick or stone siding.

They're like tiny, self-contained castle keeps.

 

[Umbran]

And honestly, running to get your supplies after the initial hit put you in the category of sheple in some people's terms.

Yes, and those people would quickly find themselves booted if they came to post here, as we would not abide the suggestion that our members are sheeplike, unthinking masses.

So, let us not worry about those people, and instead worry about those who are here, no?