Online, I often find places from old blogs (like the ones that inspired this one!), atlas obscura, and resources like Urbexology.com. Another helpful resource can be UrbexNE on reddit. This one can be a little tricky at times because sharing locations directly isn’t allowed, so the best way to use it is to look for details within the picture that can hint at the location (newspapers, fridge magnets, signs, ect.). Another way to find places online is to just search “abandoned [insert town here]” and look for articles.
One thing about online spots though is they’re not always guaranteed to still be there, and it's not always guaranteed to be easy to get into. But there’s ways to check; The urbexne subreddit is a good way to find out about the security levels in a given place, especially in the comments. People get hostile about giving locations, but if you already know the location they posted from doing the previously recommended sleuthing, most people will answer questions about the place in the comments. For bigger spots, wikipedia can be a good way to check that the place you want to visit hasn’t been demolished and/or turned into apartments (it's always luxury apartments for some reason smh). Lastly, google maps my beloved. Just scrolling around on the map looking for roofs that have seen better days can be a good way to find places on its own, but you can often see if a place is still around from the pretty frequently updated satellite view, and sometimes you can even save yourself a walk around the outside if there’s a streetview of the place available.
The best way of all to find spots is to drive around!! Some of my favorite spots have been found just by driving around aimlessly, finding random corners of random places that people forgot about. But some people can’t drive, so what then? That’s ok too!! Get on your bike or on your feet and wander, especially in random woods. My first ever spot was this random house I found hiking in the woods when I was 14, and I grew up in eastern MA where it seems like every bit of real estate has been developed. When you find a place in person, it means you can observe it a few times; see if you see people go in and out or if police drive by a lot.
The last remaining building of the old Metropolitan State Hospital. This was one of my favorite places when I first started exploring as a teen. Its surrounded by nature trails, apartments, and a dog park- but despite all this its pretty easy to get into (just keep watch and don't go in if you see a grumpy old person staring at you). The only challenge is it often gets boarded up, but give it a month and the hole in the door will almost certainly be back. I've only ever seen police come check the place once, and that was when I went at night- so I would probably reccomend going during the day. the inside is pretty beat up, with only a few pieces of furniture left and a lot of graffiti, but its still a very fun explore.
This is one of my favorite explores if I want to scratch my urbex itch and don't wanna deal with any risks. Park at the Home depot and walk around to the back and look for a little opening where you can see a path, then go wander for a bit (take the path towards the left) and you'll see an eerie concrete building. There's not much left, but I find the vibe in there to be very spooky. For more of a challenge, up ahead there's a second building with a occasionally hard to cross stream right before it. Be very careful in here for multiple reasons- firstly, its right near multiple houses, so try to be quiet and get into the building somewhat quickly. Once you're inside, there's quite a few needles on the ground so be VERY careful and watch your step. Its more risky, but very worth it for the cool cars on the second floor.
I don't have a ton to say about this house- there's some stuff that looks like it relates to state troopers? Just keep an eye out for neighbors when entering and go through the window in the back of the house.
A failed housing development behind kimball farms and the toyota dealership! Because it failed there's not much inside a lot of them, but its still pretty cool! I saw people drive by on a golf cart once while I was there, so be slightly causious, but you'll probably be fine (we were being loud).
Ok, so the title is a little misleading- it's not actually owned by Atkins at all, I'm pretty sure its owned by hampshire college? either way, its a barn with cool old stuff inside (including mumified animals). Park at atkins and it should be right across the street- just be slightly careful about being seen by cars, but most people dgaf because they're too busy trying to get out of the rotary.