Subject says it all. I am oddly fascinated by this stuff, mainly due to playing Fallout and I find Cold War stuff interesting.
What would you do, if you survived the initial blast? Would you hunker down, or flee? Where would you set yourself up for safety? What would you gather? What would be your general course of action initially and survival method afterward?
Can’t wait to hear the responses.
(Personally, I’d flee, gather medicine and food, and find somewhere remote, preferably underground)
It’s moot. I depend on several medications. Unable to get them, I’d die anyway.
Not much more complex than “run away”.
Far enough from the city I’ll eventually have cellphone signal or access to the internet and I can find out whether it was a one-off or WWIII. And obviously it makes a big difference which of these two scenarios we’re in.
I don’t really share the fantasy many people (particularly americans) have about a post-apocalypse. It won’t be a rock-and-roll mad max adventure, it will hunger and disease. And frustration from remembering all the things you used to have.
I’d find other people, get organized and start rebuilding.
As an urbanite, I’d be well screwed. There are plenty of castles hereabouts for secure shelter but food for the winter is going to be a real problem.
I lack the survival skills and knowledge to survive on my own if I were to be dropped in the wilderness even without a nuclear apocalypse. I’m not physically fit enough to handle a life of daily struggle and potential fights. And I haven’t really got any particular skills or knowledge that would be beneficial enough to a group of survivors to justify my presence. And ultimately, a life where I have to expend the majority of every day struggling to merely survive doesn’t appeal to me.
I therefore curse my luck at having been a survivor in the first place, and find a way to kill myself in an efficient and as painless manner as I can.
+1
Die unhappily, most likely. The urban areas will be irradiated wastelands and I’m ill equipped to survive out in the hinterlands.
Well, it’s an amusing fantasy when you can place yourself in the role of the guy in the gatling gun equipped monster truck. Less fun when the reality is that you’d probably be one the the gas farmers wearing a potato sack tunic. Slightly more fun when you can envision a scenario that keeps the infrastructure intact so there’s no lack of canned beans and 9mm ammo in the Walmarts.
In years past I might have wanted to run to the woods, go underground or otherwise try to lead a small group to survival. These days, I’d like to think that I could use it as an opportunity to help the old, disabled or infirm around me. Sure, I might just be rounding up food for the cannibals or whatever the scenario says, but I’m tired of just looking out for number one.
Sorry company says mandatory overtime, end of the world is not a listed exemption
I’d hopefully die in the blast. As a survivor, I’d probably envy the dead. But what I’d do I would depend heavily on the circumstances at the time.
I’m assuming the Apocalypse will be handicap-accessible? 
This. Also I don’t want kids, but if nuclear war happened I’d probably start having kids.
I’d probably find a home that was designed to be sustainable (solar panels, water filtration, etc) and live there until I found other survivors.
I’m probably close enough to NYC to not be a survivor but should I survive, I would load my family into the Prius with food, gas, tools, water and head for western Pennsylvania to start I guess. A full tank and 10 gallons in gas cans will get me pretty far. I would be looking for any place people are working to rebuilding civilization and pitch in to help.
Pity, I have solar panels already but there is no way Central Jersey won’t be a fall out zone. If I survive I would have to head out fast.
I was an electrician & HVAC mechanic early in my life and I’m a fair carpenter. My electronics and computer skills might be useful too. My wife is good at pottery and knitting and a better programmer. She even raised & milked goats. I think we would be fairly valuable assets in a rebuilding of civilization.
Of course we would probably never get far enough from blast areas to not die in a few weeks from radiation poisoning. NYC, Philly, DC/Baltimore going to get hit hard most likely. What’s the radiation radius likely to be around Philly?
No, the title doesn’t say it all at all. What does nuclear “end” mean? Was Hiroshima a “nuclear end” End of what? Or are you talking about a Neville Shute beach scenario, where you just wait for the inescapable cloud?
Fascinating, I really didn’t think of the amount that would envy the dead. that makes the most sense, it also would be pretty difficult to find medications that were safe or not irradiated. Just to clarify I meant WW3/END with major cities being hit and given you will survive the radiation exposure. Its not a particular fantasy that I would want to be a part of, just a general curiosity of what people would do/think they would do.
I would like follow the plan what What Exit? would do, except I would probably travel north, might be nicer post-apocalyptic people in Canada (I’ve met many Canadians and they are wonderful people), should I survive the journey.
Side Question, would car batteries be defunct in this scenario due to the EMP blast? Or would the car frame/body act as a Faraday cage of sorts?
I think even in a worst case scenario there would probably be large pockets of civilization that would remain untouched. I don’t think any of the nuclear powers have any interest in bombing the countries in South America. Assuming I somehow survived the initial blast, I would try to make my way to someplace like Chile or Argentina.
That’s a really good idea! Yeah there would be places untouched, and it’s probably scenic down there too, something nice to look at while starting over.
Collect mutants?
That and try to rebuild in a low radiation area.
I’d start by getting a bat and wrapping barbed wire around it.