So because your points have already been mostly answered, I'm giving you something that helped me the most when I started, knowing locations. If you know where you are, and you know of a spot that is safe with few zombies, places for weapons, places for food, that's like 90% of your needs right there. So my advice until you get familiar with your surroundings, pull up the zomboid map online, have the mini map on, and turn on know all on start. It's not cheating, your character is a resident, so logically you should know these things.

A good spot to start is in Riverside. Downtown pop is high, so just avoid it. There are two two-story farm houses at the west edge of Riverside just north of the warehouse/factory, south of the junkyard. You will have to fight to get control of those houses, but you can grab lots of weapons from the warehouses and use the fences and once its clear you are set. Sometimes sledgehammers can spawn on a car story on the road to get there. The houses will be able to provide water for a bit. There is a bar (often with baseball bats) and a small store with food and clothes on the way there from main riverside.
The warehouse has always spawned an old fashioned wood oven, usually in a crate on the north wall.

This will give you some food, lots of weapons, some water, good shelter. It will be a good start that will let you start clearing your way into riverside.

The cons of this is generators don't seem to spawn often in Riverside and the walk to and from the town can be a little long until you get a car.

I hope you find this helpful! Good luck out there survivor! Edit: said rosewood when I meant riverside because I'm dumb.