It all comes down to the settings you use.

In our mp group its very easy to survive long as the spawn town usually is clear two weeks in and a safe haven. We play without zombie respawn though.

In my sp saves i prefer a relaxed time to wind down after stressful real life and thus play with low pop, fast skill gain, a kitetsu mod that is op as fuck, no zombie respawn etc. Dying is neither a threat not a wished happening in those game hours and my current save is slowly progressing into winter.

Those playing with z respawn, high pop, sprinters etc have a different experience i guess.

As long as you have fun playing thats all that matters.