Havens In The Apocalypse: Where To Hole Up When Hell Freezes Over

My God!!! It has been a long time, Hello Everyone Morbidly Deceased Here...

First, a disclaimer though, now just because places are on this list, doesn't mean they're perfect, in fact, most of them have drawbacks of some sort, and all of them will have some sort of difficulty attached.

When it comes to the apocalypse, the necessities still apply, food, water, shelter, etc. But, the zombie apocalypse add a new element that differs from wilderness survival, namely, strong defense against not just the relentless dead, but also other humans. Each of these locations have their own problems, but in the end, it's all about making due with what you have and going form there.

Prisons: Yes, I did get this from The Walking Dead, but hey, it's better than a farm, or a town where for some reason the supports for the walls are on the outside. Seriously, does that make sense to anyone else, could someone tell me if I'm wrong on that one? Anyways, face it, the apocalypse is not fun. (citation needed) Don't worry though, keep scrolling and I'll show you why you want to hole up here, here, and maybe there.

Advantages:
For one, protection, no one is meant to get out of those things so the opposite is usually true, also, it's a prison, worst case scenario,  get invaded by the dead, lock your self in a cell and make sure you have a weapon with you to clear those things out. One thing to be careful of though, make sure the cells aren't electrically operated, or else there is really not much of a point to individual security. They are also huge with solid walls, anyone trying to break in is going to have a tough time if you know your way around, and that will be one of the few times lack of light is your friend. Also, it's a great place to fortify just because most of the work is done for you, now if the people sieging happened to have a tank, god help you. As for food though, their might be some left, but scouting parties will still be necessary.

Disadvantages:
While prisons might be great places for defensive structures and great fortresses, the problem is getting in and clearing it out. If the prison was overrun before anyone could be let out, then good, well, okay, not for the previous occupants, but for you, that means all you have to do is clear out the halls and clear out the cells, which will be easy, but if the outbreak happened while most people were out of their cells, you have a problem on your hands. You see, the problem with most prisons, at least American ones, is that there is mostly artificial light, as in, if the power's out, you're stuck stumbling around with flashlights and such surrounded by the undead, yeah not fun. Maybe i should a series on how to clear out places like that...

Malls: Yes, yeah, I was think of Dawn Of The Dead, so, it could be worse, what about Zombieland where their idea was an amusement park? How, amusing. Oh, and Dead Rising, can't forget about Dead Rising, still haven't played that game though, need to do that some time, anyways...

Advantages: Lots and lots of places to fall back to or corral zombies into, though i'm not sure as to the strength of the security gates, i'm sure if i were to look at enough Black Friday footage, i'm sure i'd know how many living people they can hold back. That's what's kind of odd about the undead, well besides the whole un-dead thing, but they are weaker than humans, but more persistent, something that can hold several humans can hold more zombies, but the problem is that it needs to hold itself for longer, either way though, the small area of malls make it easy to close off shops, although i would never recommend closing yourself in one, that would be a huge mistake, but the zombies would appreciate it at least.

Disadvantages: Your going to need more than one person to defend and fortify a mall, which means you'll need people, and we all know how much of a problem people can be even when there is not an apocalypse raging across the entire planet.

Your Own House:
To take a page, or maybe a chapter out of The Zombie Survival Guide by Max Brooks, your house is probably one of the best places to be in the apocalypse, assuming you don't live in an apartment complex, okay, actually, that could work too if you were willing to clear out tons of rooms, so, your house, you know it,  it's one of the best places to be.

Advantages:
Well, it's your house, you know it well, and you know the area around you. Well, assuming you haven't moved recently. So it's really only the location that ends being a problem but it shouldn't be too bad, worst case scenario, the dead over run your neighborhood it wouldn't be as bad as being in a city, or an apartment.

Disadvantages:
Location, location, location.. yeah, had to throw that in there. But I'm not joking, not entirely, if your neighborhood is large with not many other places that can be looted or raided, best to move. But say you are in an ideal location for savaging, then it's up to how you decide to do it, if you have a two story house, knock out the stairs the best you can and improvise your own way up, that way even if the dead (or living) break through they can't immediately get to you, and this method will also prevent any dead from sneaking up on you while you are asleep, well, assuming you remember to sleep upstairs, but that should've probably been mentioned in the advantages section.

Multi-Level Office Buildings:
Nah, just pulling your leg, there's a lot of gathering that would be needed, and just yeah, no. But it would be cool to have a zombie book/movie/something where that's where a group has holed up in one and as the plot moves forward, they are slowly pushed up the floors building as the dead rush in. blocking their way out. But I digress...

Costco:

Advantages: The buy-in-bulk store with everything under the sun, besides more than one free samples the selfish b-, anyways, you want clothes, it's there, you want food, it's there, you want way too much toilet paper than necessary, it's there. Lots and lots of supplies and lots and lots of space, just hope it doesn't spoil. With all the random pallets lying around as well. you easily board up places from humans and zombies alike, until someone is stupid enough to set it on fire.

Disadvantages: Everyone and your neighbor probably has the same idea, hope you like sharing, food or bullets, depending on if you think there can only be ONE LORD OF THE COSTCO AND HE DOES NOT SHARE POWER!!!

Well, good luck in the apocalypse, hopefully this helps, if not, not my fault, entirely, hopefully...

That's All For Now...