And now me again.PensFanInDC wrote: Well allow me to retort
1) Considering that zombies don't follow roads or trails and just wonder aimlessly I think the odds are even higher that a horde finds a remote cabin.
2) "Supplies would be limited, but humans lived for centuries without Walmart." That's true. But we haven't had to in a long time and we've become adjusted to it now. Living off the land is possible but to throw someone who has never had to do it into a world where you are now forced to while at the same time becoming the prey of a dangerous predator is a lot to overcome.
3) Small, rural towns have lots of guns and ammo. And said guns and ammo would have probably been taken by the original owners and/or used against you when you come into the town.
1. I really don't think the odds are higher. The zombies, as you've pointed out, are drawn to noise as noise = potential food. There's going to be much less noise in Southwest WV than say, Atlanta or New York City so the odds of them just stumbling upon an area with an extremely small population is slim. Besides, I've rented some awesome cabins in the mountains that were difficult to access (one was literally built against the side of the mtn) so most of the zombies would probably fall off the cliffs before they got there anyway.
2. True for city folks, but for those of us who grew up in the country, it wouldn't be as challenging. Medical supplies would be the big stumbling block, but even small towns have vets where you could get antibiotics. Actually, they'd have more vets than cities because many rural communities are so farm driven that the need to vets is higher. Of course, antibiotics and most medicines have a shelf life and would be worthless after just a few short years so this would quickly be a moot point wherever you lived. Hunting would be pretty easy, as there wouldn't be a hunting season any more where the deer population is thinned out, no cars to wipe them out either. And it's pretty easy to grow a small garden is you want tomatoes, corn, peppers, etc. Heck, you could even get some chickens and a couple cows for milk and eggs as these animals (if they hadn't starved) would be plentiful in rural area.
3. This could be an issue and I'd certainly never want to take over a town with a stronghold of good, God-fearing county folks who were smart enough to stay there and not head for the cities. But an already abandoned town would be full of possibilities. And I'm also not suggesting holing up in said small town. I think the idea situation would be to be close one of these towns (within 10 or 15 mi) so you could go there when needed, but to live in a cabin in the woods, decreasing the chances that you'd be come upon by looting marauders, which would likely be seeking out towns/cities, not a cabin all by itself 10 miles from the nearest town.