To some, this is a dangerous crime; to others, it is the ultimate form of modern exploration. Urban exploration (the practice of infiltrating abandoned structures) is becoming really popular. But what drives people to risk arrest, injuries, and lung damage due to asbestos just to stand inside a ruined building?
Sometimes we just want something that takes us to a whole different world, here is where all these hiding gems shine, these wrecked places that are basically frozen in time bring a whole different vibe to what we are used to. Through their structure these places tell stories that were slowly forgotten and urged to be told one more time.
It’s easy to think of urbex as just trespassing, but once you dive into it you discover there’s “levels” assigned by the explorers to these places depending on the risk of exploring the place, and certain rules that are recommended to follow for safe exploration like never going alone, wear protective gear, avoid vandalism, watch your steps, have more than one exit, and never be more than 10 mins away from that exit.
(If you ever get caught you didn’t see any trespassing signs).
Levels 1-5:
- Low Risk (Lvl 1): Known, easily accessible spots with significant decay or graffiti, such as abandoned warehouses, rural farmhouses, barns, or schools.
- Moderate Risk (Lvl 2): More contained sites requiring navigation, such as inner-city houses, mansions, funeral homes, or old stores.
- Moderate-High Risk (Lvl 3): Large, complex sites, including abandoned shopping malls, neighborhoods, or hotels.
- High Risk (Lvl 4): Sites with active security patrols, live power, or structural danger, such as hospitals, power plants, and resorts.
- Extremely High Risk (Lvl 5): Active sites, hazardous environments (e.g., restricted areas, places with deadly gas/low oxygen), or sites with high legal penalties for trespass.
