I have to agree with Bobcat. I set up the area the team wakes up in and make some vague assumptions about the geopolitical map and the peoples in those areas. Flesh out the area around the bolt hole with quite a bit of detail and let the team go. Works well for me and can make things quite interesting.
For instance in my current campaign based in the greater Seattle with first time players, they have been very cautious and approaching the residents carefully. But they have also been sending out constant CW broadcasts advertising for other MP teams. After a few days of this, I let the KFS Secret Police hear this signal and they replied trying to pass themselves off as "Morrow Eastern Command". During the radio exchange, they did not reveal their location, but now in addition to slavers entering the area, the KFS Secret Police know there is an MP team out there that just woke up and might be able to raise them on the radio again in the future.
So while I planned to keep them isolated by geography for a little while, the team themselves gave me a way to bring other challenges to them. It takes a bit of work and fast thinking, but if the environment has enough detail that you can assemble a plausible encounter, you get new idea that can work with your planned ideas. I don't know if this group will go into Seattle to see what up, even with the legend and lore they have learned. If not, I can still use that area as they go into the one they served up on a plate for me.
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