[@Vermillion] Apparently I missed that part. Should have read the OP again, because I would have posted this sooner.

If it's 20 years later, then either everyone will RP an adult, which means less character development, or they'll be severely under-educated. If you want to have even a fifth-grade education, you'd be over 30 when it kicks off here, and I doubt anyone born after the apocalypse, when parents would be scavenging for food constantly, would have an actual education. Heck, depending on how bad things are for their parents, they may not even be able to read, much less survive in a hostile natural environment.

I want my character to, if nothing else, be an EMT, which means she would need to be at least 18 and past 11th grade (according to requirements). That would start her off at the age of at least 38, because I doubt she'll stumble across a paramedic who has the time and resources to give her a 3-month course. What character development is there for someone who has already been solo surviving for over half their life?