I thought of asking this in its own thread, but I've been starting too many threads lately.
If the worst actually comes to pass and this thing explodes, resulting in the projected worst-case scenarios, do you realistically believe you would have the will to keep living, assuming you aren't one of the millions killed directly by the explosion? I'm not entirely clear on exactly the projections, but from what I've read, I gather that most people in that circle die almost immediately either from the explosion or falling ash, and that much of North America is buried not long after, just not necessarily to the extent of a fatal Pompeii depth. The rest of the world quickly darkens and the global climate tumbles to chilling temperatures, gradually killing off most vegetation and animals. Base your path on where you'd most likely be assuming this would happen in the next few years, though yes, that does take the choice out of some of your hands.
As for me, I'm on the US East Coast, so presumably I would be severely affected, though I don't know if the supposed deafening of everyone here could actually happen. Presumably the devastation would ultimately disrupt or cripple the entire energy and communications infrastructure of the nation, so local communities would be entirely on their own. Would the ash clouds encircling the world disrupt satellite communications? There might be fuel enough to last for a few months or more between what gasoline remained in stations, whatever trees could be harvested, and whatever else, but once that's all gone, staying warm would be problematic. Food would be an incredible scarcity as well, as I don't think there are much in the way of farmers here anymore, not that it would matter with the climate disruption. I suppose in desperate life-or-death circumstances I could resort to cannibalism of the already-dead, like the soccer players in the Andes, but I would never be able to kill someone to that end. Wish as many problems as they have administrating now, I can't imagine the federal or state governments would be able to do much of anything at this point, if they are even trying.
I'll freely admit that I have neither the skills nor the leadership aptitude for forming a survival community in the aftermath. Maybe if someone else was able to do so, I'd join up if there was some way I could meaningfully contribute. Otherwise, if everything came down to a free for all, I also admit that I'd probably just kill myself if the elements didn't do it first.