You and I are on the same page as far as the advantages of the north are concerned.
Even without zombies there are certain practicalities about being in the north in the event of a societal collapse. The ease of food storage is a big one the fools running south are another.
I live WAY up in the mountains (10,000 elevation at my house — town is 8600 ft in the valley below).
My house is built into the mountains — not cantilevered over a cliff, but my basement is literally a cave. It’s 40 degrees in the winter and maybe 50 in the summer. Dry as a bone. I’ve often thought it pretty ideal for long term storage.
I could stop rampaging zombie herds (of the real kind, or the story kind with a well-placed tree fell onto a bridge over a critical gorge.