Sorry if this has already been brought up. But what are y'alls experiences with exploring abandoned "shopping centers" that still have active buildings around?

Recently a few restaurants have closed down in my town and look like they would be a cool quick explore for the bored. But they are in a semi busy area with other shops around. I've already scouted for possible POE and have found some easy entries.

Should I be worried about alarms and suspicious citizens? Should I stay the hell away and wait until the rest has followed suit?

I'd be worried about those things for sure. If you're looking at unlocked doors you could just walk in and I don't think anyone would question it but if you're talking climbing in windows you better be sure not to let anyone see you. Definitely more suspicious if you get caught there at night but you also have the cover of darkness and less people out at night. I'd find somewhere else to go especially if they still have stuff in the stores as most police won't be so quick to believe you when you tell them you weren't after the stuff.

That's all I needed to hear. I needed someone other than myself to convince me not to

One thing that's nice about exploring locations with a population is more doors could be unlocked. Whereas if a location is fully closed, they are more likely to lock all the doors.

Think about the people that might see you, do you think that those people would report suspicious activity? Some community's care less about reporting crime than other's.
I'd also recommend doing what you feel is possible, don't enter the place if you feel you'll get caught in seconds. Watch for odd green or red lights on the ceilings, those are a clean give away that a motion sensor is active, whether its for the security alarm or simply the automatic lights is a bet you'll need to take if you choose to proceed. Sometimes in order to find out if a location has active alarms I just run in, look for any lights indicating motion has been detected, check door frames for magnetic alarm sensors(small magnetic boxes that line up on door and door frame) and then leave quickly after getting a swift peak inside. You could leave some doors taped with scotch to see if the seal is broken after leaving, check again a week later and see of the location is any different since you were there, anything to see if anyone came in and checked on a possible silent alarm.

Posted by Stam Sometimes in order to find out if a location has active alarms I just run in, look for any lights indicating motion has been detected, check door frames for magnetic alarm sensors(small magnetic boxes that line up on door and door frame) and then leave quickly after getting a swift peak inside. You could leave some doors taped with scotch to see if the seal is broken after leaving, check again a week later and see of the location is any different since you were there, anything to see if anyone came in and checked on a possible silent alarm.

+1, I was thinking about going in a closed liquor store and that was what I was going to do. Then I realized I was an idiot and didn't want to go to jail

You have to ask yourself if it's a location worth getting caught at. In an active area you are much more likely to be spotted depending on what your tactics are. You also have the added risk of motion detectors, cctv cameras, etc.

shopping malls and restaurants.. sounds like high-risk low-reward to me..

I would be super careful about going in an area that's populated like that. Usually because it's populated there are more likely to be alarms, cameras etc as opposed to some abandoned house in the middle of nowhere. If you really want to go you could try going super late at night after everywhere closes but make sure it's worth it to you. I find that things that have newly shut down aren't as interesting to me as really old abandonments and therefore I wouldn't take the risk but that's just me. It might be worth the risk to you.

Posted by Saturn_Sayerz I find that things that have newly shut down aren't as interesting to me as really old abandonments and therefore I wouldn't take the risk but that's just me. It might be worth the risk to you.

Oh trust me so do I. It's just very scarce to find old abandonments in my near vicinity

Posted by Trout na bout Oh trust me so do I. It's just very scarce to find old abandonments in my near vicinity

ROAD TRIP TIME!

Posted by Saturn_Sayerz ROAD TRIP TIME!

You know it! I'm driving up the east coast to New York then Canada over the summer. So believe me I'm scouting places! And trying to find people to meet along the way