Can I survive living on $20/day in the World's WEALTHIEST City?

New York City, the Big Apple, a place that never sleeps and also the world's wealthiest city. But all these skylines

wealthiest city. But all these skylines and glamour have a cost. And recently,

that cost has been rising faster than the people who live here can even keep up with.

Expensive, [music] out of control.

The rent here is absolutely crazy, very, very unaffordable.

And that's how I ended up here today in New York to see if it's actually possible to survive 24 hours here with just $20. And this includes everything.

just $20. And this includes everything.

And so I figured there's no better people to ask than some local New Yorkers whether they think it is possible to survive on this budget.

There's no chance because of accommodation. You're not going to find

accommodation. You're not going to find somewhere unless you're going to sleep on the street. You're not going to find somewhere accommodation. Getting from

somewhere accommodation. Getting from the airport and food, you're going to be at $100 minimum.

It'll be difficult. You're not going to do much, but sleeping, you're out of luck. You can't even get a closet for

luck. You can't even get a closet for that. Oh, I know it's

that. Oh, I know it's Well, the optimism wasn't in my favor.

And to make matters even more challenging, survival isn't the only goal. I have to complete three tasks

goal. I have to complete three tasks while I'm here, including visiting five different places or activities. And

honestly, I'm not so sure that was a good idea. Guys, I'm not going to lie.

good idea. Guys, I'm not going to lie.

I'm feeling so freaking exhausted. If I

make it through this, I'm going to be shocked. I'm pushing through my all my

shocked. I'm pushing through my all my body, my legs are aching and everything.

So, will I be able to survive the next 24 hours? The clock starts now.

24 hours? The clock starts now.

[music] Today is the day. I've just arrived to New York City here at LaGuardia Airport.

I'm sure it's going to involve a lot of challenging moments. The only thing I

challenging moments. The only thing I brought with are cameras, sweater, toothbrush, an empty water bottle, so that way if I can find a refill station, and that is it. The reason why I flew

into LaGuardia Airport is because I was told there is a free shuttle that'll get us closer into town. So, we're doing every possible thing to optimize exploring all over New York City. I have

put in so many hours and let me just tell you guys, I don't know if I'm going to pass or fail this challenge. I

actually lived just outside of New York City off and on for like 9 months back in 2019 before turning into a YouTuber, but I never really explored New York City during that time. I was actually just out on Long Island. After leaving

the airport, I hopped on the free bus to the NYC subway where I planned to buy a $2.90 metro pass and take the train to Roosevelt Island. But little did I know,

Roosevelt Island. But little did I know, things were not going to go exactly as I expected.

So that's awesome. It's a completely free bus ride and it always operates.

And boom. Now we're right here at the subway station. So from here is where

subway station. So from here is where we're going to be spending our first couple bucks.

That would be too big to purchase anything.

So the first problem is is they're not going to accept my 20. So I got to see if someone can give me change. To get

the change, I stepped back outside. Hey

my brother, how you doing? Any any

chance you can do me a favor and get me change? I'm doing a $20 YouTube

change? I'm doing a $20 YouTube challenge and I and they won't give me change at the uh at the metro station. I

really appreciate it. Thank you so much.

But the Metro Pass ended up costing more than I thought it would. This does make it more expensive. I thought it was going to be$ 2.90, but it was 325. We

got to make sure they give us our change, though, cuz every scent counts.

There we go. We got the ticket. We got a dollar.75.

dollar.75.

It's only good for one single ride. If

you do not use it within the next 2 hours, it would not be any good in any case.

All right. Thank you so much for that. I

appreciate you. If you're staying here for a long period of time, you would know that a single ride's not going to be your best option. But, uh, let's go ahead and head on down. So, I think we're going to ride the F line. I looked

it up. And that should get us over to Roosevelt Island because that's going to be a place we're going to walk around a free place we can go to. And, uh, we shall see how this all goes. [music]

We spent a little bit more than the 290 we had budgeted, but uh, that's all right. I'm still excited for this. Still

right. I'm still excited for this. Still

going strong. as we go through this $20 challenge, I will not eat the same food twice. As well as I can't stay at like a

twice. As well as I can't stay at like a friend's place. Any way that I find

friend's place. Any way that I find accommodation, you would be able to as well. It wouldn't be some special

well. It wouldn't be some special connection. And that's actually where

connection. And that's actually where I'm most worried right now about this challenge cuz how I was going to get accommodation is not aligning right now.

So, that part, it's possible that this challenge could fail for that reason because I have no idea how I will be able to find a place with this budget. I

was worried about how I'd manage the night, but as soon as I left the station, something immediately caught my attention. Oh my god, guys. We are

attention. Oh my god, guys. We are

getting our first look at Manhattan.

That is phenomenal.

So, it's [music] pretty awesome to be here at Roosevelt Island because it's like inside of New York City, but it doesn't have that crazy busyness. So,

you get more of a peaceful vibe to it. I

don't know if you could do this challenge in the summer with how hot it is, but in the fall, this is freaking paradise. And it is moments like these

paradise. And it is moments like these that make you think, is this challenge going to be easier than I thought?

I doubt it because that's what I thought about Dubai. And it definitely was not

about Dubai. And it definitely was not as easy as I thought. Dubai is one of my favorite cities, don't get me wrong, but wow. Even though it's awesome being

wow. Even though it's awesome being outside of the Burj Khalifa, if you don't got a meal in you, sometimes you're like, are you even there? I'm

going to do this challenge completely transparent. You know, guys, this isn't

transparent. You know, guys, this isn't Disney. Like, I don't need to have a

Disney. Like, I don't need to have a happy ending. I can also fail the

happy ending. I can also fail the challenge and sleep outside if something doesn't work out. And I I will do it.

And you guys know that because I just love making videos more purely for the art of it than for the views. And um the views are greatly appreciated and supported. But that's why I want you

supported. But that's why I want you guys to know like this isn't like any other challenge video. I made a plan, spent a lot of time making that plan, and I think the plan's going to work.

But if the plan doesn't work, well, you'll see a lot of tips on how to get through New York City, and you'll see me either struggle or make it. Now, if my budget was bigger, I would definitely be using one of these. Unfortunately,

though, a day pass is $25. That would

more than blow our budget just to be able to ride this. We would be able to see so much of New York City if our budget was a little bit bigger. But now,

you know, if you've got a $50 per day budget, then these bikes are your best friend. But that's not what we're doing.

friend. But that's not what we're doing.

And the cool part is we've been walking along this whole area. There's no

buildings here. There's no restaurants or anything. You just have this nature,

or anything. You just have this nature, which I really appreciate about New York. I mean, this real estate is worth

York. I mean, this real estate is worth insane amounts of millions and tens of millions of dollars. Yet, the city will keep this as parks. This is incredible.

Views of Manhattan, jet skis going by, boats.

This place wasn't at all how you'd imagine New York City. It was

surprisingly quiet with almost no one around. But the real reason I came here

around. But the real reason I came here wasn't for this view. It was for one of those. Oh yeah, the cable car from

those. Oh yeah, the cable car from Roosevelt Island so we can get some proper views of this place. But before

that, there was something very important I needed to do in order to keep going with this challenge. And jeez, it is starting to heat up. So, we're going to be switching outfits to just a t-shirt.

So, as I mentioned, we brought one empty water bottle and [music] we found our first drinking fountain. And there we go.

Ah, water acquired. That's the nice part about New York. We'll be able to find tons of water like this. So, first we got to get over to that tramway because it's time to go hunting for our first meal. We're going to see if New York

meal. We're going to see if New York City actually lives up to its name or if inflation has taken over this place. As

we're exploring New York City, we're going to be keeping track of how many steps we take throughout this entire 24-hour period. So you have a realistic

24-hour period. So you have a realistic idea on how much effort it took or didn't take in order to live on just $20.

We're going to be taking this thing.

Roosevelt Island Tramway. 325. That's 25

cents. There is five. Oh, they gave us two of those dollar coins.

We're going to be riding this thing.

[music] So, unfortunately, the windows could be a little bit cleaner, but that's $3.25 with a single ride.

And that was a ride on the Roosevelt tramway. And once again, guys, that's

tramway. And once again, guys, that's maybe a learning tip for you is buying the Metro Card. If you're staying more than 24 hours like me, it's going to be a much better deal because I had to pay an extra 35. It's not a lot, you know,

depending on the budget you're coming on, but hey, when we're trying to stretch $20, we're going to be pretty uh pretty limited. And I guess we can

pretty limited. And I guess we can officially say welcome to Manhattan.

Now, this feels pretty awesome. Now, I

just saw a Tik Tok saying if you call this place Manhattan, they know you're a tourist. So, you have to call it by the

tourist. So, you have to call it by the district you're in. But, I don't actually know the district I'm in. So,

I'm going to call it Manhattan cuz I am a tourist. As you can see, I'm cutting

a tourist. As you can see, I'm cutting across illegally in New York. People

don't wait for the signs to change. They

just go as soon as they don't see cars coming, which I find to be pretty funny because when you go to places like China, they would never even if there's no cars around across that road. Once I

reached Manhattan, it was time for my first meal of the day. I think the photo says 99 cent. [music] The name of the restaurant's $150. So, we'll see how

restaurant's $150. So, we'll see how good they actually taste. All right,

quick pause before I go find food because today is one of those days where I knew I'd be walking a lot. New York

all day on foot times trying to stretch $20. It does not guarantee I'm going to

$20. It does not guarantee I'm going to be eating perfectly. So, one thing I did before heading out was make sure my body was at least set up right. I've been

starting my mornings with AG1 NextGen.

After years of development and four clinical trials, this is their upgraded formula. And what I like about it is how

formula. And what I like about it is how simple it is. When I know my day is going to be chaotic, I just add one scoop of AG1 NextGen to cold water, shake it up, and that's it. For me

personally, two things I've noticed.

First, I feel more steady energy through long walking days like this, not that crash and burn feeling halfway through.

And second, my digestion feels better when my meals are unpredictable, which today definitely qualifies. I'll also

add a couple drops of their vitamin D3 plus K2 right into it. Super easy. And

if you want to try it through my link, you can get a free AG1 sampler and AGZ sampler to try all the flavors plus free vitamin D3 plus K2 and an AG1 welcome

kit with your first subscription. All

right, let's now see if that 20 bucks is actually going to be able to feed me in this city.

When you look at New York in the morning like [music] this though, wow. I must

say it is an an impressive city.

Freaking insane how massive these buildings are walking through here. And

there it is, my friend. Fresh pizza.

Hello, my friend. How are you?

How you doing?

Very good. And you?

Yes.

All right. The cheapest pizza in New York City?

Yes, it is.

I'll take one slice, please. Oh, that's

Oh, fresh right out of the oven right there. All right. We came at the perfect

there. All right. We came at the perfect time.

150. All right. No tax here.

No, nothing.

All right. That's perfect. 150 right

there. All right, my man. Thank you very much.

The myth is not a myth. It is true. You

can find a $1.50 50 cent slice of pizza here in New York City. There we go guys.

Our fresh slice of pizza right there.

And where are you from?

I'm from Bangladesh.

Bangladesh. Uh Don Nobad.

Yes. Where you from?

May Bangla. Hey.

I don't understand.

Okay. I'm from Chicago.

Okay. Good.

But Bangladesh zindabad.

Bangladesh zindabad. Yes.

All right. Here we go, guys. Fresh slice

of pizza.

That's what we call bahot mazadar.

Yeah.

I waited all day for this. Aar namid

jam.

Nice to meet you. Jam.

Yes. Thank you so much. I've been there in Michigan.

Michigan. Yeah.

Yeah. So from Michigan to Chicago. Very

close.

Very close. Yeah. And you like here better or uh Michigan?

Uh Michigan is our community is little.

Yeah. Yeah.

Little community. And over here is uh very flexible. Everything you find the

very flexible. Everything you find the bus train subway metro everything.

And our community is is bigger compared.

Much bigger. Yeah. Yeah. Direct flights

to Dhaka from here.

It goes to Dhaka.

And this is your pizza shop?

Yeah. This not my visa shop. This is my boss. He used to work over here.

boss. He used to work over here.

All right. Well, tell him I said don't know about Dada.

Our boss has like about eight stores like this.

And how long has he had them? Like many

years.

Oh, many years. I think I know him 15 years.

Maybe if he started 15 years ago for 99 cents. Is it?

cents. Is it?

It was 99 cents. And is it still profitable now at $150 or you have to sell a lot of slices?

Before pandmic it was we sell this store more than 300 pies 300 pies every day.

Every day after pandemic he raised the price now $150. So now we sell every day around

$150. So now we sell every day around 150.

150. Okay. But the revenue is close.

Yeah. Some some stores 200 stores 300.

Wow.

Only stores is my heart and midtown.

Midtown. Yeah. Yeah.

It's expensive area. Exactly. So to be able to find a deal like this is insane.

Well, it's a pleasure to meet you. Thank

you so much. Appreciate your time.

Thank you. Don't. See you.

We have now our first meal out of at least three meals and we're already down to $11 in cash and then one of these gold coins. And we still have like 21

gold coins. And we still have like 21 hours and 49 minutes remaining.

Hopefully, we're going to be able to find some other free stuff. And still,

I'm concerned about accommodation. I was

planning on staying via I probably was declined at least 15 times. So, I'm not really sure.

By this point, 40% of my budget was already gone in the first 3 hours. I was

planning to head to Central Park. Now, I

think it's time to go to a very famous place all the way over to Central Park.

Let's do it.

But then I saw a crowd gathered in the middle of the city that completely caught me off guard. Look at that. Now,

that is a juxtiposition in New York City to see this insanely massive St.

Patrick's Cathedral here, right in between all of these buildings. Looks

like we got tons and tons of people. You

can see why. I mean, this is one of the most beautiful cathedrals you can find in all of America. All right, let's check it out. You know, anything we can do in New York City that's free, we're going to be doing it today.

And as you can see, we ended up coming over here because there is a mask going on today. Well, it could be any of these

on today. Well, it could be any of these days. Looks like we got our competition

days. Looks like we got our competition here. Fellow vloggers, our

here. Fellow vloggers, our broadcasting's better. Single man

broadcasting's better. Single man production crew over there. They've got

three. But we'll continue the walk as we head over towards Central Park here.

Guys, isn't this insane? Walking through

New York City, this place does not cease to amaze me. I mean, look at this building up here. It just looks like a pencil sticking up in the air. Just a

modern massive building. So, I had read on a blog post a lot of the uh people who run the hot dog stands over here will speak Arabic or Farsy. So, we're

going to see if we can ask one of them for directions how to get to Central Park from here. Where are you from?

Egypt.

Egypt.

Central Park.

That is a great sign to see. We've got

Central Park way up there. Not going to lie. Just ready to sit in the grass,

lie. Just ready to sit in the grass, drink some water, and rest these feet.

This place is freaking massive. It's

over 800 acres. I've been to Central Park a handful of times in my life and still have only explored like probably 25% of it. But when you walk in, it's exactly like what you'd expect in Central Park. You can go for a little

Central Park. You can go for a little ride right here. People hopping on a little bike tour. We're going by our uh manual pups right there, aka the feet.

But look at this. I mean, this is just crazy. Look it up. That's that view

crazy. Look it up. That's that view people come all the way across the world for. I must say we're seeing a lot of

for. I must say we're seeing a lot of New York at a very fast pace speed here.

We'll probably walk maybe 25% of the way in, see if we can find a good spot there. Cuz if we stay at the edges,

there. Cuz if we stay at the edges, it'll probably be crazy busy. The

Central Park is overwhelmingly massive.

It's insane. You can even find a baseball field in Central Park. If you

look around nearly 360, you would think you're somewhere far out in nature, nowhere near a city. After walking

nearly 5 miles, I needed to take a break. Surrounded by greenery, I

break. Surrounded by greenery, I realized that up to this point, the challenge hasn't been as difficult as I expected. But after doing a challenge

expected. But after doing a challenge like this in Dubai, I knew the real problems were still ahead. But how far was I willing to push myself this time?

With my energy already starting to drain and a big part of my budget gone.

Honestly, I had no idea where this curiosity would take me. But despite

these doubts, I decided to continue the journey. Got some time to chill. Got

journey. Got some time to chill. Got

some time to take down some water. And

now we have a like 35 minute walk over to the west side of the Hudson River because apparently I've been told that there's free kayaking.

[music] We are about 14 minutes away from arriving and you do have to sign a waiver in advance. You can't reserve them. So that wasn't possible. You just

them. So that wasn't possible. You just

kind of have to show up and hopefully get on the kayaks cuz it's pretty insane that in New York City on the Hudson River you can kayak for free.

guys. And we're just about there to the kayaks and we got ourselves a water fountain to fill up for free. Yeah, the last time I had water that looked that chlorinated

or whatever it is. I don't know. I was a bit worried, but the thing is is I see tons of other people drinking it. So,

that probably means it's all right.

Tastes all right. We'll have to get the job done. And alas, my friends, we have

job done. And alas, my friends, we have made it over to free public kaying. So,

if we zoom in, you can see they're preparing the kayaks. And it looks like there's tons of waiting area cuz you probably can't go in yet.

Thank you so much.

Thank you very much.

Yeah. Have you been here before?

First time.

Welcome.

All right. So, we're about to go kayaking. You can leave a donation. I

kayaking. You can leave a donation. I

left a dollar. Probably typically I would leave a lot more than that, but we're on a $20 budget.

You're going to sit. Your feet are going to point this way, and you're going to sit right there.

Cool.

Have you paddled before?

Yeah. It's been a while, though.

Okay. Enjoy. All right. Thanks so much.

Appreciate it.

All right, guys. So, this is awesome. I am kayaking

guys. So, this is awesome. I am kayaking on the Hudson River in front of New York City right now, and it was completely free. We're going to go paddling for the

free. We're going to go paddling for the next 20 minutes or so. You can paddle for 20, and if no one's waiting, you can keep going for another 20. There's

volunteers that take care of the uh area there. And um yeah, you can come on the

there. And um yeah, you can come on the weekends and just enjoy. I have this as my background. I have this as my

my background. I have this as my foreground. This is New York City, baby.

foreground. This is New York City, baby.

I can tell you guys, I'm gonna be hungry after this. All right. Thank you very

after this. All right. Thank you very much. I really appreciate it. And so,

much. I really appreciate it. And so,

guys, that was free kayaking with spending $1 on a donation. Typically,

like I said, I would give a larger donation, but for the uh $20 challenge, I'm trying to show you guys how we can explore New York City without spending an arm and a leg. Cuz let me tell you this, you can definitely spend an arm and a leg here very quickly. We've got a

lot of walking ahead of us if we want to make this $20 budget work.

I really hope we can get something delicious to cuz I'm getting so hungry, my friends. And if that wasn't enough to

my friends. And if that wasn't enough to worry about, the other problem was So, we got about 18 hours left of this challenge. The fact that we're already

challenge. The fact that we're already at 17,251 steps, and it's not even 2 p.m. yet.

Guys, this is when it's hard to uh continue with the $20 challenge. Here

we've got the uh burgers right there. I

could blow the challenge and go chow on one of those, but I'm not going to.

Before I could find a place to eat within my tight budget, I was about to arrive at one of the most famous places in America.

You can tell the place is getting a little bit more tourist and definitely not more areas for $1 related stuff.

Hey, [music] go through the phase and get where we pray. We champion ain't nothing I

pray. We champion ain't nothing I change. The streets that we pay, [music]

change. The streets that we pay, [music] they throw.

Hey, nobody can hate on the road that I play. When everything settle and see who

play. When everything settle and see who remains from dust till night till day.

Hey.

Oh my gosh, look at this place. This is

Time Square, New York City. And

surprisingly, it's one of the free things you can do. It's filling up with people, but I can tell you it gets even busier the later it gets. Any direction

you look here, light up, signs, and so much stuff happening.

Time Square was living up to its name.

Even in the middle of the day, the place was buzzing. giant digital billboards

was buzzing. giant digital billboards everywhere and that fast-paced New York energy you always hear about. And while

looking for where to eat next, oh my god, guys, what I would do for a Shake Shack burger right now, that is my favorite burger on the planet. And it is so freaking good. You see something like that, you see something like that,

that's when it gets tempting. It's like,

hm, fail the challenge and um have something delicious, spend the rest of the cash, and keep pushing.

Oh, this is when it gets tough. You

know, when your stomach's growling. Mhm.

I came across a spot called Rudy's Bar and Grill where apparently they give you a free hot dog with a $4 beer. So, I

quickly made my way over there.

Oh, that is a good feeling. 3 minutes

away, 1 mi, and hopefully at the end there, we'll be able to get our ourselves something. We'll see if this

ourselves something. We'll see if this hot dog that I'm expecting to get can hold us off long enough. I don't know how big they are. Rudy's Bar and Grill.

That's where we're heading right here.

So guys, we have just walked into Rudy's Bar and Grill and we're being told that this is the best bartender in all of New York City.

Yes, you are from New York's truest son.

Yeah. All right. So, why do you come to Rudy's? The $4 beers. Is that what gets

Rudy's? The $4 beers. Is that what gets you?

I come from the board.

I knew that. [laughter]

Just making sure you're paying attention.

Oh, I'm paying attention. Are you paying attention?

As a Are you from New York originally?

No.

Have you lived here for a while?

Yes.

All right. Do you think it's possible to survive in New York City for 24 hours on $20 US?

What year?

Maybe in room.

Right now. [music]

Right now.

I mean, yeah. You could just hang out here and eat hot dogs, right? Drink five

hot dogs.

$20 though. That means you have to make a whole 24 hours.

Oh, yeah. Everything. Accommodation,

transportation excursions everything.

Oh, no. It's

impossible. All right. All right. That's

great. So, you guys heard it right there. She thinks it's impossible. Uh,

there. She thinks it's impossible. Uh,

can I order, please, one of the uh, rel pints and uh, interview over?

The interview's over. Wouldn't even

expect this. We're going to be able to drink today [music] in New York City. Oo, an ice cold nice cold. You can't beat it. That's the big

cold. You can't beat it. That's the big part about Rudy's. You get a you get a hot dog with a beer, right?

Need to keep you sustained.

Yeah. Yeah, exactly. Thank you so much.

Look at that. A hot dog included with a beer.

I don't think there's anywhere in the world you [music] can get a deal that good.

So, it's $4 for the beer. That's it.

Quick and easy. Yep. I'm doing all of New York City for 24 hours on $20. So,

I've got now like six, seven bucks. So,

yeah, we're making it through it. So,

I want to see this video.

Oh, yeah. Yeah. It's uh it's world nomac. Like world and then no Mac with a

nomac. Like world and then no Mac with a C at the end.

No Mac.

Yeah, no Mac.

Okay. So, what is your trying to do?

I'm trying to survive 24 hours in New York City. Accommodation, uh, food,

York City. Accommodation, uh, food, excursions, transportation on $20. No

cheating.

Are you Are you not good for people tonight?

So, we can stay here for the night for free.

Uh, no, actually, I'm I'm going to try out use.

See, that's what I did in Dubai. 20

bucks, right? Okay.

right? Okay.

Yeah. Yeah. So,

it's interesting.

Yeah. Yeah. It's It's I mean, I spent weeks researching how to do this every single hack. You guys are from Ireland

single hack. You guys are from Ireland or where? Yeah. Oh, yeah. I love that

or where? Yeah. Oh, yeah. I love that country. My name is Mac.

country. My name is Mac.

Mac.

Yep.

I'm actually like 30% Irish. So, yeah.

You guys are in the blood. Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah. Thanks a lot, guys. Nice to meet you. And uh yeah, we'll see you guys on

you. And uh yeah, we'll see you guys on YouTube then. You'll be in the video.

YouTube then. You'll be in the video.

All right. All right. Take care, guys.

That was probably the most lively thing we did in this entire video. I didn't

expect that in this video we were going to be able to get a buzz going. out

everything we spent in there. It was

four bucks. Left a uh tip there. A

dollar 25% tip. The woman was super nice and even said, "I'll give you another hot dog." I don't know if I even

hot dog." I don't know if I even recorded that part, but I was like not cutting any single corners on this challenge. So, one hot dog, one beer,

challenge. So, one hot dog, one beer, five bucks out of the bank. I think

we're down to six bucks remaining. So,

the question is, how do we keep eating?

This is when things start to get tough, though, because I have an hour walk to get to our next thing. But it's like right now, of course, I would take the subway, but this is the only option.

It's like I either give up a meal later tonight, get there quicker or I eat and walk all the calories off from what I just ate. I'm not holding the time lapse

just ate. I'm not holding the time lapse up this whole time, but this is proof that I'm walking and doing the challenge. We've got a long way to go.

challenge. We've got a long way to go.

You got to realize we're literally walking from Midtown Manhattan all the way to like lower Manhattan or even further.

[music] Guys, we're making progress, but oh my gosh, my feet are hurting so badly. This

is where the challenge turns into a challenge rather than a vacation.

We are still walking. We have probably 15 minutes left to go and then we will make it to the next spot. If I make it through this, I'm going to be shocked.

[snorts] But we're still literally like 14 hours away from that. I took this incredibly long and tiring walk to catch the only free bus to the Staten Island Ferry Terminal where I was going to take

surprisingly a completely free ferry [music] that offers one of the best views in New York City near the iconic Statue [music] of Liberty. But I reached the stop a little late and missed the

bus. Guys, I've been so exhausted. I've

bus. Guys, I've been so exhausted. I've

been Oh, there goes the bus I was going to get on. There's one called Downtown Connection. It covers basically

Connection. It covers basically everything in the lowest part of Manhattan Financial District near Chinatown. And that's what we'll take to

Chinatown. And that's what we'll take to get to the very bottom. So, I guess we got to wait until the next one comes. I

was determined to wait for the next bus, but it seemed like the one I missed didn't even line up with the schedule.

[music] So, that could have been the last bus of the day. And honestly,

things were not looking so good. So

guys, this is the bus we're looking for on this route right here. But I don't know, maybe they're not picking up right here at the moment. That's the downtown connection. He's out. He's like, I see

connection. He's out. He's like, I see him. And there it goes. It runs 10:00

him. And there it goes. It runs 10:00 a.m. till 7:30 p.m. 36 stops around the

a.m. till 7:30 p.m. 36 stops around the lower Manhattan area, but we're not seeing them around here. Now, it has become a really difficult decision. The

sun was starting to set, and I didn't know whether I should wait here, hoping another bus would come or use the little energy I had left to walk another 40 minutes. Either way, I had to make a

minutes. Either way, I had to make a choice. All right, it has been decided.

choice. All right, it has been decided.

We're going to try and walk all the way there. I don't know if I'm going to

there. I don't know if I'm going to regret that, but hey, we're getting the steps in. The last transportation I was

steps in. The last transportation I was on was literally back when we got off the cable car right when we arrived to Manhattan. That was all the way on like

Manhattan. That was all the way on like the mid eastern side. I don't know what the exact district is to literally almost the southern point of Manhattan all by foot.

Guys, I'm not going to lie. I'm feeling

so exhausted. Oh my gosh. We're already

at 31,000 steps. Sun sets in 1 hour, though, so we got to go. We're way down there. Look at that. The red connection

there. Look at that. The red connection bus. So, we're going to give it one more

bus. So, we're going to give it one more shot once we get back from this beautiful sunset cruise.

And finally, that's where we're going.

The Staten Island Ferry Port. This is

one of the coolest things in New York.

Actually subsidizes the city of New York to be completely free year round. Cost

them like $5 to $8,000 per time the ferry crosses. There's uh no ticket or

ferry crosses. There's uh no ticket or anything. You just go and hop on the

anything. You just go and hop on the ferry. So, that's what we're going to

ferry. So, that's what we're going to try and do right now. We're going to try. No doubt. You got to go line up on

try. No doubt. You got to go line up on this side. And as you can see, there's

this side. And as you can see, there's literally probably a thousand people trying to get on. This is the crazy rush for probably one of the last Staten Island feries that goes right at sunset.

Everyone's running to get the best seat.

[music] You'll see how massive this boat is, though. Look at this. Oh my god. This is

though. Look at this. Oh my god. This is

how it costs literally $5 to $8,000 per time it crosses with fuel, with employee costs, all those things. Let's see if we can find ourselves a spot and we'll film some cinematic shots for you guys so you

can see what that's going to look like, [music] guys. And we're getting pretty close to

guys. And we're getting pretty close to the Statue of Liberty as we're on the Staten Island Ferry. So, this is going to be an incredible view. Cannot believe

we are going to potentially make it 24 hours in New York City. I'll be spending $20.

[music] [music] After experiencing the incredible ferry ride, I started to feel like maybe I really could make it through the full 24 hours. So, I decided to go look for

hours. So, I decided to go look for dinner. You know, we're turning red

dinner. You know, we're turning red around because I want to go have dinner in Chinatown. See if we can find

in Chinatown. See if we can find something for cheap over there. But

where was I going to spend the night? I

still had no idea. And before I could even think about that, I had to try once again to catch the downtown connection bus that I had missed earlier. Hoping it

could get me as close as possible to Chinatown, which it seems like Brooklyn was going to be the closest stop. We'll

wait here like 20 minutes, and if not, then we'll have to walk all the way over to Chinatown. Guys, I was literally just

to Chinatown. Guys, I was literally just about to say, you know what? I'm giving

up on the downtown connection bus. I'm

bummed. And literally in the second that I was thinking that, I spotted it from afar. Hey, how we doing?

afar. Hey, how we doing?

You know where you're going?

Uh yeah, to Brooklyn Bridge.

Okay, thank you. And as you can see, this is

thank you. And as you can see, this is how much time it's going to save us. And

then from there, we just got to walk to Chinatown.

All right, have a great rest of your night. Thank you. So, it brought us

night. Thank you. So, it brought us right to the Brooklyn Bridge, which is closer to Chinatown by like 24 minutes.

So, we ended up waiting I think maybe 15 minutes, but we saved the feet.

Honestly, a few steps. As much as I would love to put on more steps, also a little exhausted, but that's the downtown connection. So, I had made it

downtown connection. So, I had made it to Brooklyn only to realize the spot I wanted to eat at is closed.

That is a freaking disaster.

No.

Oh, they closed at 7.

No way. I didn't want to give up just yet. So, after a search, I found another

yet. So, after a search, I found another spot that seemed promising. Apparently,

there's a place that says eight fried dumplings for $2, and that's a 4-minute walk. Closes at 8:30. Let's try and find

walk. Closes at 8:30. Let's try and find it. I really, really hope this place has

it. I really, really hope this place has got some gin my dumplings.

Hello. Uh, do you have any uh $2 sets of dumplings? Uh, $2 dumplings. Do you have

dumplings? Uh, $2 dumplings. Do you have $2 dumplings? Yeah.

$2 dumplings? Yeah.

All right. One and two. Oh, thank you very much. Let's see how many you get in

very much. Let's see how many you get in here. Oh, yeah. All right. So, you get a

here. Oh, yeah. All right. So, you get a nice little set of Oh my god, even six of them. That's fantastic. I'm so happy

of them. That's fantastic. I'm so happy that I didn't give up. But oh my gosh, you can only imagine how hungry I am.

Nice and hot and juicy.

M. That is a winner's dinner right there. I mean, we haven't completed the

there. I mean, we haven't completed the challenge yet.

Guys, I cannot believe this. $2 for

nearly a me. Oh my gosh. She can't

speak. I'm so hungry for nearly a meal.

I mean, I could probably eat two sets of these. So, if I wasn't on the challenge,

these. So, if I wasn't on the challenge, I'd probably get four. But hey, good news is we're at a calorie deficit, so we can work on that belly.

These dumplings weren't necessarily the tastiest meal I've ever had. But after

everything I had been through today, they felt like one of the best meals I'd ever eaten. And it was right around this

ever eaten. And it was right around this time that I finally got a text back from Vladislav, the only person who showed interest to host me on couch surfing.

But we have one more place to visit tonight, which is going to be over at the Brooklyn Bridge. And then we've got to take a subway. Thankfully, I have $4 left and that'll get us all the way down

to our couch surfing hosts place. And

that will allow us to have a place to sleep tonight. I'm freaking pumped. We

sleep tonight. I'm freaking pumped. We

haven't made it there yet, but we are getting closer. Wow, that Brooklyn

getting closer. Wow, that Brooklyn Bridge sure does look pretty, though.

And guys, don't want to forget that I am literally walking through New York City at night, so I don't want to count my eggs before they hatch. Like, there's

parts that can be pretty sus. Like,

there's just sometimes a lot of crazy people on the streets just yelling and screaming, and I don't know. I don't

remember America to be this bad. I mean,

America is amazing. I don't remember America to have this many people who are dealing with stuff. Still, got to do a full walk across the Brooklyn Bridge.

Almost missed it. right up here. And

then in a few minutes, we'll be up on the Brooklyn Bridge. Guys, as you can see, it's much much busier up here.

[music] And here we go. That is a great feeling to be stepping on the Brooklyn Bridge after 35,000 freaking steps

and three small meals today. What a day it's been here in New York City.

They got this place monetized right here, too. Look at that. [music]

here, too. Look at that. [music]

You have those YouTube channels in New York City 4K?

No. No. I'm actually I travel all around the world making videos, but I'm doing it a 24-hour challenge if I can survive on $20 in New York City.

Really?

What do you guys think? You think it's possible?

Yes.

Yeah. Oh, man. All right. You're the

You're the first people here.

How is this?

This is uh hour number 12. Oh, that's

good. How much have you spent already?

I have spent $4 left. $16. I've got to take one subway down to where I'm couch surfing and then boom. But that's food, accommodation excursions everything.

Oh, that's really good.

Exactly. I mean, there's a lot you can do in cities when you really look for this stuff. So,

this stuff. So, sweet. Well, nice to meet you guys.

sweet. Well, nice to meet you guys.

Enjoy your night.

Always cool to interact with some people while we're cruising through here. I've

been going at such a fast pace. There's

been few times to actually uh chat with people. But, uh, this is the center. As

people. But, uh, this is the center. As

you can see, the center of the Brooklyn Bridge is crazy lit up at night, but it is absolutely gorgeous. Tons of things being sold all around here. If we had a little more for the budget, I would definitely grab some stuff. Looks like

also some hats and bags. Yeah, this is pretty wild. We are right in the middle

pretty wild. We are right in the middle of the river right now. And

this is freaking insane, though. Oh my

god. Walking on the Brooklyn Bridge at night, you just feel like you're on top of the world. Look at the views from here. here. I don't know how well you

here. here. I don't know how well you can see it in wide angle, but you can see tons of amazing buildings.

This has been such a beautiful walk. I

forgot how exhausted my feet were. That

is insane cuz I the whole walk here I was like, I don't know how I'm going to make it across the Brooklyn Bridge. And

then I've just been absolutely dazed and completely taken aback by what this place looks like at night. I had already walked across the entire Brooklyn Bridge and only then did I realize that

reaching Vladislav's place would take far more time and energy than I had previously imagined. And the truth was I

previously imagined. And the truth was I didn't have any energy left in me to travel that distance. We've got an hour and 16minute commute between walking

metro bus and walking. That's going to be a very long trip.

Honestly, my feet hurt so freaking bad.

I can't even head there yet. And you got to realize, not having a full thing of nutrients probably drains your energy a little bit faster. I don't know. I mean,

I'm not a not a specialist with these types of things.

Holy crap, guys. We are literally 20,000 steps short of literally walking the distance of a marathon.

That's how you know we really put on some steps today. There was still a long way to go and I didn't know if I should push myself further or just stop right there.

[music] I'm laughing because it's just like this night never ends. It's 9:00 p.m. I would

love to be sleeping.

The exhaustion is killing me, guys.

Sorry, my energy is probably not even enjoyable for you guys to try and keep up with me. This is the harsh reality.

I'm pushing through my all my body, my legs are aching and everything. They

always say the hardest part is the last 10%.

That's exactly how I feel. Both my toes have blisters. My pinky toes on each

have blisters. My pinky toes on each foot. Inched I can feel the pain. Every

foot. Inched I can feel the pain. Every

bone in my body saying, "Hey, you're done." Was traveling really just about

done." Was traveling really just about spending money and doing what everyone else does? Or is there something more to

else does? Or is there something more to it? Something that I've always believed

it? Something that I've always believed in? Oh, there it is. Clark Street subway

in? Oh, there it is. Clark Street subway station. Got to use our last and final

station. Got to use our last and final $4 to get us safe subway ticket.

We got a little money left. Does this uh ticket allow me to transfer onto a bus?

The single ride. But

let me see.

You just brought it, right?

Yeah.

Okay. I will let you on. Okay. Don't

tap. Use that on the bus.

All right. All right. Thank you so much.

I really appreciate it. She let me keep my single ride because if you buy just a single ride ticket, it doesn't work for a transfer. And I didn't tell her I was

a transfer. And I didn't tell her I was doing a challenge or anything. She just

did that out of the kindness of her heart. Isn't travel about the people you

heart. Isn't travel about the people you meet, the small connections you [music] make along the way, and even the little struggles you go through. We have taken 15 stops on the red line all the way

over here. And as you can see, it's

over here. And as you can see, it's pretty empty at this hour. I almost fell asleep on that subway cuz that was a long ride, like 30 something minutes. We

have made it to Flat Bush, my friends.

And no way. Missed it by just a freaking second. That was it right there.

second. That was it right there.

Does joy only exist when everything [music] is easy and in front of us? Or

is it still there when we have to struggle and work for [music] what we want?

Not going to lie, guys. I'm keeping the camera down, but this area feels super freaking sus. Like, there was multiple

freaking sus. Like, there was multiple cops on the train, multiple cops when we got out, and there's just not really much going on. It says in 2 minutes it should be here. I just don't know if I'm on the right side. I think this is the

one. This is the one to go south.

one. This is the one to go south.

Thank you.

Maybe sometimes it's found in the effort, in the moments when you have to push yourself to reach what you truly [music] want.

Thank you very much.

Take care.

You too.

It's time to go and meet uh Vlad. We got

an 8-minute walk now and that's going to be the last step. Literally so far away, but hey, I'm so grateful to have a place to stay.

Glenn, what's up, man? What's up, man?

Mac, pleasure to meet you, man. Nice to

meet you.

How are you? Thanks so much for letting me stay. Really appreciate it.

me stay. Really appreciate it.

So, sweet.

Uh, I have two options.

Yeah.

So, if you want, I have inflatable mattress [music] here or you can take the second. Uh, whatever. Up to you.

the second. Uh, whatever. Up to you.

Either or. Uh, whatever is uh easier for you. Um, I'm the straightest guy. So,

you. Um, I'm the straightest guy. So,

usually when I say that some some guys are like, "No, no, no. I'm good." So, I have mattress. Or you can you can take

have mattress. Or you can you can take half of the bed. Up to you.

Whatever is easiest for you. I don't

want to post.

Yeah.

Okay.

Yeah. Awesome.

So, how is life, dude? Life is good, man. Just been I

dude? Life is good, man. Just been I literally am I am let's see how far in.

9 hours and 43 minutes remaining.

Doing what? 9 hour. That's how much I have remaining for 24 hours of just uh So, did you complete the $20 thing?

Literally, what I have left is 75 cents.

So, yeah. Yeah, that that was my last uh Yeah.

Actually, [snorts] what what I did in Hawaii $933 for 18 days.

Oh my god.

No ticket. And they say it's expensive.

How? [laughter]

That's freaking awesome, guys. So, this is Vled and he's showing

guys. So, this is Vled and he's showing me some of his budget hacks. I mean, I thought I was pretty good at budgeting.

I mean, 933 bucks in Hawaii, that's that's well done. killing it.

And you're originally Ukrainian, right?

Exactly.

And then so what's your story?

No, no, no. I'm a citizen of the world, but originally That's me. That's what I say, too. Yeah.

That's me. That's what I say, too. Yeah.

Yeah. There you go.

Yep.

That's awesome.

Well, so in 2021, I I um I left job. I

left my job.

I celebrated my birthday December and I just said, you know what? Winters in

Ukraine are so rough. So I was like, let me spend the summer like winter in the summer like areas like and then Sri Lanka was a good idea cuz you can you

can you can be very budget in Sri Lanka.

So I had a visa for 3 months [music] so I could actually stay 3 months but then after 1 month I discovered everything the buses, hitchhiking, [music] the mountains. I did cover surfing there.

mountains. I did cover surfing there.

That was crazy. Oh, in 1 month I explored literally everything that I was like I should [music] go someplace else.

That's why I went to India.

Oh, that's awesome. So that's how you knocked out both countries.

But that was like Oh, that was the story. We bought a ticket and then we

story. We bought a ticket and then we bought a ticket that the airline that doesn't exist. We came to the airport

doesn't exist. We came to the airport and they said, "What? What the hell is that? This plane fully scam."

that? This plane fully scam."

So we had to go and buy another ticket outside the airport.

Yeah. I we took the bus to the city to do some like to get some money blah blah blah and I found a golden ear earring.

Yeah.

I sold it in the store and bought a ticket to India.

Oh my gosh. That's insane.

That's the karma, you know.

Yeah.

I lost money buying a ticket, but then I found a gold earring, sold it, and bought a ticket.

That is boom.

Oh my gosh, that is freaking awesome.

Let's go.

Yeah, I know. I I have a lot of stories.

So if we [music] have time, we can talk about it.

Yeah.

A lot. This is my territory. Like I'm

pretty much happy about it. This is what I collect.

Oh, nice. So you collect the local money.

India Sri Lanka. Oh, I do have Turkish L. Turkish.

L. Turkish.

Yeah. This nice.

Oh, that's awesome.

Right. That's actually $500 billion.

Have you ever seen this before?

No. [laughter]

This is Yugoslavian money.

Yugoslavia doesn't exist.

Oh, right. Doesn't exist anymore. Who

would have thought? Guys, I'm here with Vlad. 500 billion.

Vlad. 500 billion.

You're staying with the billionaire.

Yes.

And And what made you uh decide to uh host me?

I I do vlog too for myself. For myself.

For myself. [music] Not for the public.

I have all the stuff I need to make a good stuff. It's just the laziness, you

good stuff. It's just the laziness, you know.

But that's where I met you. Maybe I will start starting tomorrow. I'm going to be a vlogger.

Well, awesome, man. Thank you so much for letting me stay. I really appreciate it.

No problem.

When I woke up the next morning, something felt different. Something had

changed. I couldn't tell if it was relief of finally being able to go back to normal. [music]

to normal. [music] Vlad, you were the man, brother. You're

so cool and looking forward to meeting again here soon and making YouTube videos together. Guys, drop a comment

videos together. Guys, drop a comment below if you think that Vlad should [clears throat] make him.

Or the satisfaction of not giving up.

Maybe it was realizing that this city, for all its size and chaos, isn't as impossible as it might seem. And the

question whether you can travel in New York for 24 hours for just $20. Well,

now you know. If you're ever running into a moment where you're like, "This is not going to be [music] possible."

You should rethink and say, "How can I make this possible? What do I need to do to make it possible?