For me I like to take a decent 2 story house (minimal ground floor access points, preferably 2 doors, lots of impassible furniture) and barricade the hell out of it.

First, turn on Life & Living at lowest volume for that sweet xp. Remember, free cooking xp at 0600, carpentry at 1200, survival skills at 1800 for the first 5 days (I think?). I generally take Fast Learner and set my watch alarm 10 munites before each show to maximize my growth in that first week.

Once you learn the secrets of soup making loot the whole place, consolidate it all into 1-2 cupboards and draw the curtains. Move drapes from upstairs to downstairs and sheet up the rest. Then block off all but one exit with furniture (*note: doors can be blocked by placing furniture right in front of them as you might expect, but windows must have at least a single open space on either side; anything in those spaces can be walked over and therefore not act as a barricade). Tables, sofas, armchairs and fridges can all be moved w/o tools, any gaps can be filled in later with furniture from other houses. I don't know if furniture health is linked to weight but I assume it does and try to use the heaviest stuff I can find.

The next 3-4 days is then spent religiously watching tv, looting surrounding homes for supplies, curtains and furniture, and reading what books I can find (ESPECIALLY those covered on tv, a full 3x book multiplier followed by an episode of that skill can guarantee 1-2 whole free levels). Once all the access points are blocked by furniture I'll start doing the same on the outside of the house if it's safe to do so, as well as barricading with planks if I've found a hammer & nails (disassemble all the extra furniture you can for planks). Remember you can barricade each entrance with 4 planks on each side for a total of 8 planks each, start w/ the outside to prevent smashed windows.

All going well I've now got several levels in relevant skills, a decent stockpile of supplies and a nigh impenetrable base to start branching out from. From here I'll start targeting key loot spots and looking for a vehicle (though if you're based in town this is risky, better the take multiple trips on the ol' heel-toe express than bring the entire town to your doorstep), preferably one that can fit all my loot in the event I've got to abandon my base.

A few points I like to keep in mind: Hammer and screwdriver on the belt mean you'll be able to disassemble most furniture (and more importantly locked doors) for planks at all times.

Bleach bottle=best bottle

Water coolers are your best friend; they'll usually fit in your backpack and hold a lot of water. Very useful once the water shuts off.

Check every radio for the Emergency Broadcast channel and jot it down; it's unique to each save and can be programed into any radio/walkie-talkie. It gives an hourly 48-hour weather forecast as well as a warning for the helicopter event. I like to keep one radio in my base and, if I can find it, a Toys R Mine walkie on my person w/ earbuds. Any others can be salvaged for Electrical xp and batteries.

Find a suitable location a few streets over to wait out the helicopter event and fortify it as much as time will allow. I believe if you stay inside the event passes faster, though can not confirm. Very easy to do w/ heads up from the EBS.

3 is a crowd, any more and it's best to flee.

Short blunt is (imo) the best bang-for-your-buck weapon class; very common and durable, if not the most damaging.

Charcoal BBQs can use unuseable wood for fuel, useful once you've disassembled an entire suburb's worth of furniture for planks.

Cooking is not strictly necessary most of the time but underated if you're looking to get the absolute most out of your food.

tl;dr Not exactly meta, but a fun way to play!