[Radio]

You just have to chalk it up to story telling.

Everyone is a year older, which shows mostly in Carl. The prison is a major setting for the comics and the show. So you explain it by saying they have been living like nomads for the winter looking for a safe haven. Every time they find something a herd comes through driving them out. They end up going in circles, albeit very large ones, none the less circles.

Could be a case of better the devil you know. They know the area, they seem to know where and how the herd moves, making the situation "manageable".

Besides how terrible would the show be if they just headed for the coast and lived happily ever after...