Best way to lose zeds is to find a barn with doors on opposite ends. They will start walking once inside the building and you can get out of their LOS (line of sight) through the other door. As far as meeting up. Pay attention to the text in the lower right hand corner when you spawn in. That tells you your closest town/city. After that you either get lucky by finding a map in game or follow major roads/powerlines to find other cities.