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Assuming you haven't changed the settings, you have to prepare for the electricity/water to shut down. That's probably your nr 1 concern. Get a small base up and running that can provide for you for when this ends.
Just learn the game slowly, see what does what, learn how to kill zombies, slowly but surely you'll gain more of a handle on what to do.
Finding a car is nice, but be aware that it attracts a lot of zombies due to the noise it makes. You might not know how to handle that many zombies, I know I didn't at first.
And expect to die. And be okay with that. At first I wouldn't go wild with good/bad traits. Burglar is always a good role to start with and I always take smoking as a negative trait because it's very easily maintained and the one where you don't have as much condition.
I always take cat eyes too as a positive.
https://pzwiki.net/wiki/Life_and_Living_TV#Schedule
Fitness will let u run longer and not make u exhausted as quickly but as above said its best to avoid running if u can. Its easy to overextend and try to do too much in a day so for starting out it might be safer to get some fitness just to learn the ropes,
Strength helps u shove zombies to the ground faster and stomp their heads. Helpful for early game. It also helps opening windows allowing u to sneak into buildings quietly, plus gives u more inventory space.
Beginner weapon I'd say would be 2 handed long blunt. Long range makes it safer, plus weapons like crowbar are very durable meaning u can rely on it and not worry about constant looting for new weapons.
Unemployed is a good overall "Occupation", it doesn't give u any buffs but 8 points to choose traits. Things like Cats eyes help u see a bit better at night. Dextrous moves items faster which is a nice qol. I wouldn't worry about trying to get too many +- traits, just learn the game as u go, once u know the game mechanics u can start dealing with certain negative traits giving u more points to spend.
Unemployed
+ Cats eyes
+ Dextrous
+ Fit
+ Stout
- Slow Reader, probably the safest negative trait imo, find a safe room and just speed up time when reading.
- High Thirst, you'll need to drink more liquids, but water is available in most buildings. You'll just need to be ready for when water shuts off. Collect rain water or from a river.
Fire Officer is also good starter as it already gives u +1 to Fit and Str. Specializes in axes which aren't as common but u can still use any other weapon just fine.
Welcome to an awesome game, GL.
Complete check out your starting location, it is very safe and no zeds will be within 100 feet of you for at least a while as long as you stay in that building. Check every nook and craney for items, you want right away:
A backpack or some sort of pack for carrying, a big hiking bag would be best.
A water bottle!! most important, carry 1 or 2 at all times, top them off with water at spigots often. You need water and will drink automatically if its in your inventory.
A weapon! There are a ton of options and you will find a favorite fast. I prefer an axe or a baseball bat but even a plank or knife will do. Better than nothing.
Last but not least, FOOD! Carry it with you if you plan to change bases. If you have canned goods then carry a can opener or they are useless.
EXTRA CREDIT:
A fricking CAR, if you have a car in your driveway then it belongs to you, you probably have keys. Getting around the map with a car right off the bat will make your life a ton easier and allows you to stow things in the seats/trunk.
If you stay in your house for a few days then you need a hammer, nails and a screw driver to start taking things apart to get planks and to board up the windows. It makes a world of difference for security against zeds (board up inside and out if you can). Get sheets and cover up all the windows, if the zeds cant see in to see you then they wont usually start trying to break in.
Use the TV and change the channel to life and learning for the first 9 days, be johnny on the spot about watching the life and learning channel. https://pzwiki.net/wiki/Television#Channels
Free skill points are VERY important early on, especially cooking and carpentry.
GET A WATCH!!! if you cant find one then pull one off a zed you kill. LOL turn off the alarm btw, or it will get you in trouble eventually. When the educational TV shows about to come on, head back to the house to watch it. If you read the beginner books that are related to the TV shows then it will greatly increase the skill gain. With the right books and just reading/watching TV you will gain a TON of skill points in some much needed skills.
If you just do these things, you will stay very safe in your home or right near it. But this game is not about safety, its about risking death. So when you are ready, go out and explore. Search your neighbors houses for more loot. Sneak constantly and only fight when it makes sense. As you get better you will notice your runs lasting longer and longer until you start building new bases and planning "end game" goals you set for yourself.
Good Luck
I'd say the helicopter fly-over is the number 1 concern. Since zombies are attracted to sound, it brings a giant crowd with it, and if it "notices" you, it will basically stop and hover over your location for several in-game hours before finally leaving.
Top priority before that happens should be finding a car and some gas. Load essentials into the trunk ahead of time, when the helicopter shows grab as much as you can from your hidey-hole and start driving (slowly) towards the edge of town. When the helicopter moves on, circle around through the outskirts and backroads and see how infested your starting neighborhood has become.
When you are initially set up and you are ready to either start searching the wider area, go for a long drive or are ready to get smart and make your escape to the countryside houses (where it is WAAAY safer) then you need to know where you are. Ahem...
https://map.projectzomboid.com/?#0.6189752887481338,0.22644786700857727,0.9619981088930839
You are in there somewhere.... It will take some digging around and knowing a few landmarks, like what your street and surrounding buildings look like, and it will help if you know what section of the map you chose to start in. But you can find yourself on that map. Then you can figure out what is in your immediate area and what makes sense to start raiding. Or maybe you can plan a warehouse out of town to tackle, or a farmstead that would make a good permanent base. Having the https://map.projectzomboid.com/?# makes that a heck of a lot easier. Seems silly that you wouldnt know what your area looks like unless you had amnesia.
I have been very lucky with the helicopter event my last few runs, to the point where it was a non-issue. I just stayed indoors and it roamed all over town, moving zeds around. The zeds wandered past my house and never noticed me thanks to the curtains. I stayed inside and read books for a day is all.
I'm playing IWBUMS though, they may have changed it. Before I would just hop in a car and lead it around town for a day and pray my gas never ran out or the car died. Maybe drop a campfire in a field and lead the swarm over it a few times.
But how do I lose zombies? Every time, I try jumping into one house I find more inside or outside which adds more to the horde chasing me. I only walk/sneak to avoid fighting but man I can't ♥♥♥♥ half the time
~So you got some followers!~
First make sure you can outpace them without sprinting constantly (sprinting wears you out and then you are in trouble). Zeds are fricking stupid. They go toward noise or some visual anomaly (like you at a distance) and zero in on the location that got their attention. If you are moving and being careful you will notice they zero in on where you were, not where you are sometimes. This means that if you can get out of their sight and keep them from hearing you (sneaking after running) and change directions, they go to where they last picked up noise/sight and hang out there looking for you. So what do you do to ditch zeds heading for you?
1. Turn a corner and then book it! They will go around the corner looking for you. If you can make it around another corner or get behind something before they reach that corner and not make any noise, you lost them.
2. Go into trees, a lot of trees. Trees slow you down, they slow down zeds too. They also block sight of everybody. Head into trees at a sprint. then change directions when you cant see them any more and start sneaking. Go for a bit and loop back around. With any luck the zeds will keep on trucking into the forest with you bringing up their rear. A neat trick to pull at that point is to set the forest on fire and walk away. Never have to worry about those particular zeds again.
3. PARKOUR! Dodging through houses using the windows/doors and closing the doors behind you works wonders. They cant open doors quickly like we can, only break them and that takes a while. Want to kill a whole lot of zeds in a neighborhood? Head to a house, turn on the stove with a bunch of stuff in it. Go to the front door and fire a gun. Head through the house and shut the doors behind you, dodge out the back and hope you dont run into zeds coming up the back yard. Now head over a couple houses without being seen and hide for a day or two. That house you attracted them to will catch fire from the stove and burn down all the zeds that broke into that were attracted by the gunfire. Long as you stay out of sight you can watch the show.
Fighting zed packs is possible, even unarmed. But its really a matter of technique. With a lot of practice you can kill 2 or 3 zeds with 0 weapons. You can kill a whole group of them with a weapon and timing it right. Its all bout backing up and timing your push/shove and swings. Keep knocking them down until you get just 1 or 2 (depending on weapon) and then work on those guys as more come up. You basically whittle them down while backing up constantly. Better weapons/skills and practice makes it a lot easier. With the right weapons and practice you will tackle 10-20 zeds head on and not bat an eye.
Lastly, Guns are not your friend. Use as noisemakers only, or maybe a last ditch if you have a shotgun.
Only sprint through trees if it's absolutely necessary! You can cut yourself. I lost a character one time who got lacerated on his neck this way lol.
Oh lordy. I have never been seriously hurt by trees, guess I was lucky. What a hilarious way to go.