One of the biggest problems I have during urban exploration is... finding a place at all. Without revealing too much, I live near Torrance, which is near Los Angeles. With how populated everything is, there are little to no abandoned locations. I constantly take other routes, or try to do research at home, and find pretty much nothing.

The best I can do is an abandoned hospital, which being right next to the new hospital, seems impossible to access. There's a hole in the fence, but it seems the cameras or boarded entrances would stop me from getting in there. There's also an abandoned World War Two bunker which, admittedly is also a nice find, if I could get inside, which the city doesn't seem too keen on me doing.

I guess my question from all this rambling is; what advice would you have for finding locations? How far should I expect to go for a nice spot? I know that many of you probably have access to the database on this site, but without that, I seem out of luck on finding anything.

Posted by NickNick28 I constantly take other routes, or try to do research at home, and find pretty much nothing.

I'm not surprised you didn't find anything seeing as you also were unable do a quick search to see if others have asked this exact same question. This topic has been discussed ad nauseam.

Posted by NickNick28 I guess my question from all this rambling is; what advice would you have for finding locations? How far should I expect to go for a nice spot? I know that many of you probably have access to the database on this site, but without that, I seem out of luck on finding anything.

The database is less substantial than you might think. Full membership is more for reading the banlist and extra drama of >Other than it is having premium access to new locations. I'd suggest meeting up with a local, or do a few google searches. I'm able to plan roadtrips and weekend explores all over the Mid West without having to travel and scout beforehand.

Admittedly these locations might be more popular if you can find them with a google search, but they're a great place to start. News articles are great sources of unintentional wisdom to us. I'm sure there are dozens of "man finds finger in infamous abandoned warehouse on X boulevard" in LA.

There are plenty of outlines on the site, keep digging and you'll find some worthwhile things. There are also plenty of resources outside of UER too, don't be afraid to utilize blogs, facebook groups and news outlets.

Good luck! It can be tough sometimes when you don't live in Gary, but good things come to those who do their homework.


Edit for grammar.

Okay, I've given this advice out before, but giving it out again can't hurt.

Water sources
If your city has a river, follow it, especially to the edge of town. Certain industrial buildings require large amounts of water, such as paper mills, power plants, etc. Lakes can also be promising, but stationary bodies of water tend to be more hit and miss in my experience. Additionally, some streams or creeks may be rerouted through underground tunnels by construction. If a stream appears to disappear, investigate why.


Railroad tracks
Follow the railroad tracks. Due to the fact that there is no such thing as a quiet train that's safe for small children to be near, active railroad tracks tend to drive residential property values down, and lower economic prosperity goes hand in hand with more abandonments. Additionally, they tend to run through industrial areas, bringing me to my next point.


Industrial Areas
If your town has an industrial area, go poke around. You'll probably run into something interesting eventually.


Bad part of town
Just as lower economic prosperity and abandoned buildings go together like milk and cereal, the "bad" (read: poor) part of town will often have more abandonments than the rest of town. It's usually near the industrial part of town too, so your odds of finding something are even better.


Local Government
While they say that only taxes and death are certainties, that's a lie. There is a third certainty, and it is that bureaucracy is slow- and governments are bureaucracies. Look for terms like "redevelopment," "urban renewal," and "blight" down at the city hall. Stuff like this is public record.


Newspapers
Of course, why go through all the trouble of digging through your local government's paperwork when you could let somebody else do it for you? Redevelopment plans tend to require large quantities of taxpayer dollars, and your local newspapers (not the national syndicates, mind you), will probably report on it. Since bureaucracy moves so slow, you'll probably have plenty of time to act on any information that you find in the daily paper.


Local Historical Society
Many cities and towns have their own historical societies, and they tend to take an interest in historic old buildings like abandonments, and they keep their own records too. It could be worth looking to see what a visit to their archives can dig up.


Google Maps
The old standby of every modern explorer. You can easily zoom in on parts of town likely to have abandonments (as posted above), and start looking for signs of abandonment. These may include parking lots that are cracked, empty, and overgrown; damaged roofs; dirt parking lots/lawn; structurally damage severe enough to be seen from orbit; obviously broken windows; and rusty metal that shouldn't be.


Hopefully this helps you out some.

I have found many locations I've explored while on public transit or in the passenger seat of a car, and Toronto is not exactly a place teeming with abandoned things.
Aran's advice is very helpful, but as already said, it can't be that hard to just look.

Honestly you could probably scour some newspaper archives and do a few google searches and come across a handful of places, some of which are likely still standing. There's plenty of places in a big city if you poke around enough, and sometimes just going for a long walk around the place is enough to find something interesting.

An alternative route is to explore some active locations, construction sites, or demolition sites. A bonus for active locations is it's not as likely to have dust and mould, and the floor will almost never fall out from under you.

If you have a daily commute anywhere, and you have the time, start taking different routes every day. The first day I did that I found a couple potential abandonments in about 30 minutes.(Although I was in a ghetto area) Also keep in mind that there is much more to urban exploration than just abandoned buildings, sometimes a storm drain or a building that's simply for sale or closed has potential for adventure. My best advice is keep an eye out and go on scouting adventures frequently, you never know when a building will go silent.

Do what I do. Go for a walk. That's how I find the vast majority of my favorite places.

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