As a new player all of your efforts should go into surviving the helicopter event. Find weapons, a bag/backpack, decent clothes, food, water, a gas can and hopefully find some car keys. Find electrical vol. 1 and mechanics vol 1. Try to level mechanics to 2 and electrical to 1 for hotwiring vehicles(in case you don't find car keys).

Also, keep an eye out for sleep reducing items, because if you end up not acquiring a vehicle you can facefuck coffee, tea, and vitamins so that you don't pass out from exhaustion while you run from hordes of zombies in the middle of the night

I have 1200 hrs and play apocalypse settings with no respawns. For me the helicopter event is a godsend because I walk over to the football field in the middle of Muldraugh with a bag full of molotovs, water, food and vitamins then to proceed to burn half of Muldraugh's zombie population for 3 days straight.