That isn't my "plan" it was just something I thought of. Personally, I think most of the conversation in these threads is misdirected as realistically, people will only have to survive on their own for so long (a few months) before either most everyone else is dead or gone.

Let's say there was a nuclear strike in Denver. You'd just have to survive long enough to make it to the next state where there is room for you to reintegrate into society. If there were a nuclear strike in several major cities, then you'd need to be prepared to live long enough to get to the next country. Even though people may have to fend for themselves, doesn't mean that people aren't going to join together in groups. There will certainly be risk of people just out looting or preying on the weak, but that won't be the majority of people.

Personally, I'm kind of surprised at how narrow the discussion has been so far. If 50% of the US is turned into a nuclear wasteland, I'm not going to try and drag my family to the most rugged part of Yellowstone to try and play "My Side of the Mountain" and hope other refugees leave us alone and our teeth don't fall out from radiation. We'll go up to Canada or down to Mexico where we can reintegrate into another society. Sure, it wouldn't be my beloved America, but it would be better than a nuclear waste land.