Posted by Samurai i'm dying... i was diagnosed with dilated cardiomyopathy... basically, the left side of my heart is not pushing worth a fuck. I was given 5 years to live in 2016... therefore, i couldn't do any of this physically any longer. which fucking sucks. hey, you asked... lol

I'd heard that you were ill. I am truly sorry to hear it is that bad. If the thoughts and prayers of a wannabe minister are any comfort, know that you have mine.

Just popped on here to try to find a location a co-worker of mine had been to in Barbados and saw this thread. I've been fairly absent from this site because its a pain in the ass on my phone, and I rarely find myself on a laptop these days. But its nice to see the some of the same people posting here that I remember from years ago! (Samurai, so very sorry to hear of your illness). I hesitate to say I'm "retired" from exploring, because I would continue to go in a heartbeat. But life is a funny thing. Years ago I went through a long and nasty divorce which sucked the life out of me. A couple years later my daughter was diagnosed with cancer and nothing else in the world mattered. I also never really found a place that "lit my torch" like exploring Worcester State Hospital and I swear I went through a depression when they tore it down. Everything seemed to pale in comparison, and my mindset was unless it was going to be something amazing, I would just pass. Looking back, I think it was just me making excuses because I was having a hard time navigating through my daughter's illness. The last handful of times I've been exploring, its been by chance. I've rolled up on some abandonments that are either being prepped for demo or renovation and I just ask if I can go through. Call it the path of least resistance. Screw the theory that "asking permission" is not really exploring, I've seen some amazing things by asking permission and I haven't been turned down yet. Cheers!

I regularly check on threads to keep up on what's hot or not but have not actively explored in many years.
Mostly because the folks I used to explore with have slowed down also and I now have grand kids that utilize my time and energy keeping me busy as a fart in a fan factory.

I do still explore when the opportunity manifests but when it comes to posting any galleries I don't because to me it is a major hassle now. It used to be easy peasy to toss up a thread with photos or make a gallery but now ya need this or that yadda yadda...blah blah blah.. It's just too much horse shit for my feeble mind to wrap around. **squirrel !!

I am truly sorry to learn of life's struggles and loses to those that have expressed such. My thoughts are with you and I do honestly hope you find ways to cope or deal to feel better as possible with given circumstances.

I was in 30's when first finding this forum and now in 50's and can hardly believe that much time has flown by already !! Further proof to do what makes you happy as time does not stand still for anybody.


I like the brotherhood and sisterhood this site offers even though there have been more than a fair share of knobs that come and go, overall it's a fit for me.

Keep on keeping peeps and smile often...makes people happy in a effed up world!!

Posted by bandi I got out of the scene as a result of anxiety. I used to explore 5 places a week in my "glory days" but I haven't set foot in an abandonment (with the exception of a train on the east coast) for about 7 years. Too many "what ifs", mostly concerned about getting caught by some angry farmer I think. The brain is a confusing thing. I still enjoy seeing other peoples post their adventures here, and this is also where I still keep in touch with a bunch of friends I met along the way.

I've got perma-anxiety on a daily basis.

Driving mildly reckless on/in anything that burns gas and exploring are the only things that force me to stay in the present moment. I used to kick box and work out to fight the "dark passenger" but it hurts my body too much now.

It took me a long time to be open about my mental illness.

Got old, got arrested, got into other things. I'm happy for what I did back in the day, but I'm good with it being in the past.

I don't like to think of myself as retired, but is certainly not super exciting anymore around where i live. The landscape has changed (everything is gone), the community vanished. There are still a couple people who go around, doing mostly houses and such. But drains, big projects?
Security tech doesnt help either, anything fun is guarded by a dozen cams on every corner, unlike in the good ol days.

I try to get out for international events and thats my exploring! But I'd be happy to do something locally if it existed.

Posted by Doug I don't feel bad about turning 55, just a bit guilty after reading some of these replies. Hopefully you'll still be doing stuff in 20 years... me? Not likely

That's good to hear (LOL). Yeah hopefully I'll be able to keep exploring as it keeps me going ha ha. 20 years isn't too far away now (LOL).

I don't have the time. It's largely due to living in a very rural area, combined with working nights. There's a few old cabins in the wilderness around here, as well as abandoned mines (which I won't enter) and otherwise you're talking hours of driving before you get to any sort of notable population center.

I also could never be assed to take a crapload of pictures. In my heyday (late 70s thru to the early 90s) I never had a camera, and I still don't much like stopping to take pics. Takes me right out of the mood.

But I still poke around here sometimes, mostly out of curiosity about old spots I'm familiar with in areas where I've lived & explored previously. (mostly southern Ontario & the Okanagan).

I was involved in an accident in 2019 that resulted in an exploded kneecap. After the bone shards were vacuumed out, the remaining bits screwed back together, and lots of physical therapy, it never did heal back to full. I have to use a cane to get around now, and since most locations aren't handicap accessible...to the sidelines I go!

Posted by Watcher I'd heard that you were ill. I am truly sorry to hear it is that bad. If the thoughts and prayers of a wannabe minister are any comfort, know that you have mine.

thank you. it's appreciated... the doctors gave me five, we're going on 8 years. lol

A combo of things: Work, other hobbies, and a change in social circles. I would still explore if an opportunity arose, but in general, I'm more anxious about certain things. People seem a bit more unhinged, and I'm not trying to FAFO in the wrong area.

I had only been caught once and never arrested, badly injured, or had firearms pointed at me. I feel I probably used up all my luck in my 20s. I'm also nowhere near as limber as I used to be.

I still love seeing others' adventures, would still explore the right location with the right people, and I do hang out on the forum more than my posts show. I wouldn't ever call myself "retired", but I'm nowhere near as active in explores as I was at, say, 21-22, when I was convinced I was invincible and immune to consequences.

Posted by Mr. Nosey I've got perma-anxiety on a daily basis. Driving mildly reckless on/in anything that burns gas and exploring are the only things that force me to stay in the present moment. I used to kick box and work out to fight the "dark passenger" but it hurts my body too much now. It took me a long time to be open about my mental illness.

I feel the same way. My normal life is riddled with anxiety and fear, but when I just let my engine roar, or I am neck-deep into an infiltration, All my worries and fears fade away. I am present in the moment, I have to be. And when I get back home afterwards, all my worries seem a little silly. Why would I be worried about being a little late on my credit card payments when I wasn't worried when I was getting chased by a farmer in his truck with a shotgun six hours prior. I don't know where I'd be without it.

Local spots dried up. Travel became prohibitively expensive. Influencers and the content-creator-industrial-complex blows spots faster than ever. Lost motivation for the research/writing grind after YouTube personalities used my blog as a content farm. Security tech got better, which resulted in a few close-calls and makes me paranoid (you can slap a sub-GoPro sized, battery-powered, cellular-connected security camera up anywhere these days).

When I can swing the travel I still make an effort for dead malls and stuff, but I've backed off most-everything else except where it's convenient.

I didn't go out too often back in the day but when I lived in Massachusetts from 2010-2021 I was able to explore some cool places. Framingham witch house (RIP) was a frequent haunt as well as Medfield State which is still there and you are allowed to take photos of the exteriors as much as you'd like. Apologies if I am not supposed to give names but they're pretty common and one is now restored. I believe I added a few photos of them to the database back then. I still come here from time to time to check in and see what people are up to. I also love coming here during the holidays to see the floating Santa and Christmas lights. I am glad they are still doing that. I have been going through a lot myself. I lost both my parents in 2019 as well as a close friend in a horrible car accident in 2018, and another friend to cancer the same year. My parents lived long lives, mom was 85, dad was 88. I had been taking care of them until they passed away. We decided to move to GA in late 2021 where my sister in law lives, she has kids, so we figured more birthday parties might be good. I haven't had a chance to explore down here too much yet. I am also a psych nurse and worked in some of these establishments at times, which makes for an interesting job. I am really sorry to hear about the person critically ill. I also struggle with anxiety and now some depression. Even though I personally don't see 57 as being too old I am not eager to start jumping fences. I have done some workshops where you get permission to take photos which is less anxiety provoking. I am going to try to find some old photos when I get home maybe add a few later. I am very glad this site is still up and running.

I personally had legal trouble with property owners with my current, and former accounts (Mr. Bitey - yup - the cat's out of the bag - there just isn't any good reason to keep it a secret anymore). The legal threats were ultimately no big deal, and I could have fought them, but it was a hassle I really didn't have time for. Not to mention since this hobby doesn't make me a penny, nor was it ever intended to, it just wasn't worth spending any money on the fight. My former UER acct still has pics in the DB, but the Flickr/FB/IG accts that were the real problem I shut down despite me personally not sharing location details in any post, on any platform. I still explore, still take pics, I just don't share anymore. While I may not seem like an elder here, I did lurk for near 10yrs before I created Mr. Bitey's acct some 5ish years ago. I wanna say I found UER around 2008. So even though some of you don't know me well, I feel like I have known some of you for 15yrs. When I created my current acct (which BTW, I earned FM again- I didn't even consider begging for my old acct back), the people I enjoyed interacting with here had since left either on their own or by force. I just don't have much to say anymore - I see them same thing over and over here now, new folks not even bothering to read the FAQ or browse the rookie forum for answers, just looking for hand outs. How do I add something to the DB? How do I post pics? How do I become an FM when all my files are too big? *sigh* Few even try anymore, and when they find there is an effort involved, they walk away *sigh*. I still enjoy it here very much and appreciate that AV even keeps it running, but it is not what it once was and that is just MHO, my $0.02.

That is all. Back to the shadows then.

Posted by fr00tCake I personally had legal trouble with property owners with my current, and former accounts (Mr. Bitey - yup - the cat's out of the bag - there just isn't any good reason to keep it a secret anymore). The legal threats were ultimately no big deal, and I could have fought them, but it was a hassle I really didn't have time for. Not to mention since this hobby doesn't make me a penny, nor was it ever intended to, it just wasn't worth spending any money on the fight. My former UER acct still has pics in the DB, but the Flickr/FB/IG accts that were the real problem I shut down despite me personally not sharing location details in any post, on any platform. I still explore, still take pics, I just don't share anymore. While I may not seem like an elder here, I did lurk for near 10yrs before I created Mr. Bitey's acct some 5ish years ago. I wanna say I found UER around 2008. So even though some of you don't know me well, I feel like I have known some of you for 15yrs. When I created my current acct (which BTW, I earned FM again- I didn't even consider begging for my old acct back), the people I enjoyed interacting with here had since left either on their own or by force. I just don't have much to say anymore - I see them same thing over and over here now, new folks not even bothering to read the FAQ or browse the rookie forum for answers, just looking for hand outs. How do I add something to the DB? How do I post pics? How do I become an FM when all my files are too big? *sigh* Few even try anymore, and when they find there is an effort involved, they walk away *sigh*. I still enjoy it here very much and appreciate that AV even keeps it running, but it is not what it once was and that is just MHO, my $0.02. That is all. Back to the shadows then.

Nice to know you're still here ;)

I'm training the next generation.

To be clear, my interest in exploring has always been just for fun and I continue to do it because it's fun.

Posted by jonrev content-creator-industrial-complex

They do what the short attention span masses want: short vertical video to watch on their phone.

10 minute, 1080 HD video of exploring an abandoned castle - 11 views.

30 second, vertical video of throwing a water balloon off a second floor balcony - 5 million views.

blows spots faster than ever.

I think that's intentional so they have the first, clean visit at locations which go to shit shortly thereafter and deliberately ruin it for everyone else.

While I've never posted much since joining here in 2005, my main reason for getting out of 'the game' is directly related to having two knees with no cartilage in either. Walking around the house is painful enough, never mind trying to traverse any sort of abandonment.

Posted by Aran For those of you who were once actively engaged in the community on UER but only lurk nowadays, why did you stop engaging?

UER is too public for most people that do active infiltration and big industrial abandonments.