it could be a high fantasy. as in, it takes place in it's own world. if it were to take place in the real world, you'd have to consider where hoss studied when the shooting happened, and that kind of narrows it down to US.
I've just been viewing it as an amalgam of countries or it's own place, vague enough you can have it wherever. Ausmerope or something like that.
For me it fits North America's eastern side. Dense secluded mountainous forests you can get lost in and die pretty easily. Coastal adjacent so that the beach is a reasonable day trip. All four seasons with cold winters (enough to freeze in) and hot summers. And yeah... Hoss' backstory.