Urban Exploring is a Thing Now

NSFW.  If you're under 30 or so, then you know this.  But you older folks checking this out might not realize "urban exploring" (or UE) is a thing now, and has been for quite a while.  People have been exploring abandoned places for centuries, there's nothing new about that.  We're all familiar with photos of Roman, Mayan, and other ruins.  But now people, LOTS of people, are going out on little expeditions to explore paces that have been abandoned in our lifetimes, and many in very recent years. 

As a BMX freestyler from the mid 80's, and occasional skateboarder and longtime video guy, I've been exploring urban places much of my life.  I can remember sneaking into an abandoned (and supposedly haunted) house when I was 10 in Ohio.  Abandoned houses were a novelty back then in the thriving industrial economy.  Now one of the factories my dad took me in as a kid is rotting like the place in this video.  Huge chunks of big cities are in decay for a variety of reasons.  The bad part is, there's a lot more to come. 

This blog is about trying to find legitimate uses (not meth labs, crack houses, or homeless toilets) for all the buildings that still have a chance out there.  I'm going to look into the reasons why places wind up abandoned, delve into the economy and see what the future looks like, and scour the web and other sources for the people putting old buildings to good use.  If any of this interests you, hop on, it should be an interesting ride. 

The 10 Most Ghetto Cities in California

Hey, nobody said this blog was going to be politically correct.  Here's a fairly racist, but damn funny look at the most ghetto places in Cali.  These guys did some actual research to come up with this list, so I'll give 'em props for that.  I'm proud to say I've been to three of these cities as a taxi driver, at night, and lived to tell the tales.  One of those three was Compton.  Really.  That car in the still above looks a lot more like the "box Chevy's" here in North Carolina, though.

For those of you upset with this video, here's the same crew with their list of:
The 10 Most Redneck Cities in California.  Feel better now?

The 12 Worst Places To Live in the U.S.

According to Destination Tips You Tube channel, these are the worst places to live in the U.S..  Apparently these people have never lived in a really boring small town like the ones I grew up in.