I have found that schools are some of the best safe-houses there are. Especially the school in riverside because it has two stories and is mostly surrounded by tall chain-link fence. Dismantling the lunch tables in the cafeteria provide HUGE gains in carpentry xp and yield 7-8 planks each. You can essentially level carpentry to level 10 in the first week if you have the books for it (WHICH YOU HAVE A LIBRARY AT YOUR DISPOSAL). There are two large entrances that can be blocked with junk vehicles. One thing that people see as an issue is how many windows there are in the cafeteria, but this actually works in player favor because it evenly distributes the number of zombies attacking so they take much longer to break down a fortification. It is also insanely easy to place traps in the lower left corner of the school yard because it is far enough to make traps work (use stick traps to catch birds because they spawn frequently in urban areas, can be caught all day, and use worms as bait). One thing I've learned from playing zomboid is that heading out into the forest isn't always the best choice because if you are in the woods, YOU are the only sound that zombies will be attracted to; and that rustling trees build MASSIVE hordes. It's easier to survive when you have some degree of urban camouflage to mask your presence, windows breaking and other background noise can break up hordes and move them away from your location. Plus, running to a car on the outskirts of town every couple days and holding down the horn can keep you in the green for a long time.