Ranked: Russell Group uni cities where you’re most likely to survive a zombie apocalypse

Movies and TV shows such as I Am Legend, The Last of Us and The Walking Dead have shown the realities of living in a zombie apocalypse and how choosing where you base yourself during the end times can actually really help survival.

As many horror fans will know, living in the big city tends to be the worst place usually means you’ll wind up dead, as survivors usually thrive in more hard to reach places.

But have you ever thought about which UK city has the best chance of survival if there ever is an outbreak? Well, EPD has, and it’s compiled a list of Russell Group uni cities where you could actually survive during a zombie apocalypse.

The scores, out of 100, are based on six criteria, including traffic congestion, road quality, car ownership, access to green space, and the availability of fuel.

So, let’s see which Russell Group uni city could actually survive a zombie apocalypse.

12. Liverpool – 42.3

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Coming in at the bottom of our list is Liverpool. All we’d need is a backlogged Mersey Tunnel and we’d have no chance.

Also, why are there barely any petrol stations in Liverpool? How would you escape? Better get Doomsday prepping now because Scousers’ chances aren’t looking good.

11. Nottingham – 46.4

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So you might not be safe in the city centre, but could you imagine living at Wollaton Park during an apocalypse? Green spaces, check, somewhere to live, check, near a water source, check, but according to the actual data, this doesn’t matter all that much as apparently we probably wouldn’t survive in Notts.

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10. Birmingham – 47

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Right, as a local, I can for sure tell you we wouldn’t survive. Maybe if we all bought barges and lived our lives out on the canal but could you imagine Five Ways island during zombie apocalypse hysteria?

We’re all so crammed in that we’re effectively an all you can eat buffer for the undead and I know we’re too stubborn to pay city centre petrol prices to escape meaning we’d for sure be eaten.

9. Edinburgh – 50

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Edinburgh is apparently the city with the worst congestion after London, so I’m not surprised it’s landed further down this list.

Although Arthur’s Seat would be a great vantage point and the castle, a fabulous strong hold, we’d just end up getting eaten in our cars before we had a chance to leave the city’s limits.

8. Manchester – 50.3

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Firstly, could you imagine leaving Manchester and driving south during an apocalypse? Have you seen the M6? We’d have no chance, we’d have more of a chance of survival standing in front of a zombie, saying: “Take me.”

Manchester is so packed, it’d effectively be like a human deli counter for the zombies but apparently it does have some redeeming qualities in an outbreak. It has a decent number of petrol stations, open spaces, and if you happen to be in Alderley Edge, there’s some nice gated properties to lock yourself down in too.

7. London – 53.1

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How London is on the list, I’ll never know.

It’s congested, it’s full of people, there’s a neighbourly love, I just don’t see how anyone would survive.

We’ve all seen 28 Days Later, and we all know how the Black Death went, so personally, I’d be moving out of the capital when the next apocalypse comes.

6. Bristol – 55.1

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Right, I’ve been to Bristol once, and I’ll be frank, never went back due to the hills. I’m a flat city kind of girl and those ginormous mountains downright gave me a cardiac arrest, so I can only sympathise for the zombies.

Bristol is also full of green spaces, is right on the water, and has nicer weather than cities up north so I imagine it would be a lovely place to thrive as an apocalypse survivor.

5. Glasgow – 55.6

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Glaswegians are tough, resourceful, and strong. They battle constant rain, and chilly temperatures so to them, a zombie apocalypse is nothing.

They could just wait the zombies out, letting them freeze as they carry on with their everyday jobs.

The zombies don’t stand a chance.

4. Sheffield – 61

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If you can survive West Street, you can survive anything and that includes a zombie apocalypse.

Sheffield also has the benefit of being horrendously hilly, something I know the zombies wouldn’t cope with. They’d just leave and find a flatter city like Birmingham and eat some Brummie brains instead.

3. Leeds – 73.6

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A respectable score by northern powerhouse Leeds, although I think we can all agree, it wasn’t its lack of traffic that let it score so highly.

With a fair number of petrol stations to aid in your escape, and the fact it’s surrounded by national parks, your chance of surviving an apocalypse in Leeds is pretty high.

2. Newcastle – 79.6

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Just knocked off the top spot, Newcastle scored really highly. Geordies are made of strong stuff, and they have a literal army, a black and white one to be exact, so they wouldn’t just be surviving, they’d be thriving.

1. Cardiff – 82

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This Russell Group uni city scored an impressive 82 out of 100, which is no surprise as it’s packed full of green spaces including Bute Park, which would be a fine place to hide during a zombie apocalypse, if I say so myself.

Cardiff also has the benefit of being on the water, meaning zombies have less ways to enter the city.

The congestion is also pretty good compared to a number of big cities so I’m not shocked the Welsh capital scored so highly.

However, I’m sure Cardiffians’ friendly nature might lead them to getting eaten.

Featured image via HBO