Whatever the geographic situation, the "strength in numbers" strategy is far and away the most likely to succeed.
One of the first things they drilled into us at basic training was that a lone wolf makes an easy target. The best defense against hordes of looters, zombies or just plain hungry people is having your own horde.
Every time this subject comes up I want to refer to that TV show during "Disaster Week" on the history channel about a man, his wife and son and their travails leaving LA after "the big epidemic" has wiped out 90% of humanity. Never can remember the name.
Anyway, that was about the most realistic and well thought out representation of a true long term SHTF scenario I've ever seen.
Some communities went feudal - a strong man sheriff turned warlord took over, fenced the town borders and the folks survived. Not free like we describe it, but alive.
Eventually, people banded together as humans have done for about as long as we've been around and worked for common survival, and survived.
As part of that strategy, I've told several nubile young ladies that in the event of disaster, nuclear war, famine, plague, civil unrest or just the power going off for a couple of hours, there will be plenty of food, drink and comfort available for all of my "friends". Got that idea from Dr. Strangelove...
