So in this video, I wanted to explain exactly why I still live here.

So I was born and raised here in the metro New York area, then went to college in the Bronx, and then I've lived here in Manhattan my whole life.

And I unconditionally love New York City.

And this city has just won the trophy for being the most expensive city in the world.

So why in the world do I still live here?

You know, when I first moved here, I was broke, fresh out of college, living on my sister's couch while I was trying to start my clothing company, which at the time was not making any money, and then at night was a burger delivery boy.

Nothing against being a burger delivery boy, and it is a job that saved me in a time where I did need money.

But I'm saying all this just to say that I was pretty much starting my career from the bottom.

And within just a few short years, I was able to build two fairly successful companies.

Well, the clothing company ended up being successful, but I then started a skateboard company, which to be honest with you guys, it was a bit of a failure.

Learned a lot, but just lost money.

But overall, I went from being in a tiny bit of debt to being financially free, and I believe that New York City did really help expedite that process.

Which leads me into the first reason why I love living here.

You know how they say you're a product of your environment?

Well, when your environment is New York City, you produce way more than you knew you were capable of.

This city attracts some of the smartest and hardest working people from around the planet, and also the wealthiest, since another trophy that this city has is that it is home to the most billionaires in the world, and also one in every 24 people is a millionaire.

Since we are all an average of the people we surround ourselves with, being around so many bright and motivated people just injects this desire for you to grow.

I believe there are two different types of people in this world.

Those who want to savor life, and those who want to push their lives to see what they're capable of.

I mean, I haven't done a survey, but I would say a majority of the people living here in New York are those who want to see what they're capable of.

Since if I had to pick 10 words to describe New York City, relaxing would definitely not be on that list.

Chaos, that would probably be on the top.

Which is why I do personally love to travel a lot, since I feel like New York City is the ultimate office, and everywhere else is vacation.

And I like a balance of savoring life, so I do feel like it is sometimes just absolutely necessary to escape this chaos.

Not gonna lie to you guys though, every time I do leave, the first day I'm gone, I feel like I'm already homesick.

It's easy to miss this place.

So yeah, living in New York City can be pure chaos, which is exactly why I am excited to announce today's sponsor of BetterHelp.

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So like I said, every single month, it costs me over $10,000 to live here in New York City.

I wanted to fully explain that.

So first of all, as you guys know, my rent with utilities and Wi-Fi comes out to just over $3,500, which is honestly a pretty incredible deal here in New York City.

So you have a spacious one bedroom, even two balconies, and a view of the Empire State Building.

Also, my gym here is $405 per month, which is pretty absurd.

I mean, it does have an incredible pool on a rooftop, but still.

But the thing that really does it is the taxes.

Uncle Sam just makes it so difficult to live here.

I know talking about taxes is not the most exciting thing.

So let me do this quickly.

All right.

So New York State has one of the highest state taxes in the entire country.

It's roughly about 10%.

And then on top of that, here in New York City, you also have this additional city tax, which is 4%.

So living in New York City, you're paying about 14% of your income that you wouldn't have to pay if you live somewhere like Florida.

Florida is pretty much like the Monaco of the US.

Also, to clarify how I say that I spend over $10,000 per month living in New York City, that is inclusive of what I pay in taxes, since otherwise, I'm a pretty frugal spender.

Now, I would be lying to you guys if I were to say that

I haven't thought about packing up all my bags and moving to a place like Bali.

Bali is somewhere I've been many times.

Pretty much every winter, I escape here in New York and go there, since the quality of life is so good and also the cost of life.

If you've been to Bali, you know exactly what I'm talking about.

And it is pretty dang tempting.

So why don't I leave New York City?

So first of all, family.

My sister lives just one block away in one of these buildings over here.

Then the rest of my family is also in a very close proximity.

All of my friends are here.

And even after traveling to hundreds, if not thousands of cities,

I still feel the happiest here in New York.

I know a lot of people like to give the city crap and how it can be a very lonely city, which it most certainly can.

But like anything, it's what you make of it.

And I think you can really make this city feel like home.

It's also become very apparent after traveling to so many other cities around the world that if I were to try and leave New York, which is so electric and energetic that it would be quite difficult after already being used to this.

Now, I know New York is not for everyone and it's also not forever for everyone.

But I do feel like for at least one year, everyone should try living in New York City.

For myself right now, being a single guy with no kids, it is pretty incredible and does make sense.

But as soon as I do start to decide to have a family, it might or it might not still make sense.

And of course, at that point, it's going to put my family's best interest above mine.

But just know, I'm not going to go down without a fight.

You know that not leaving scene from The Wolf of Wall Street?

They're going to need to send in the National Guard, a f***ing SWAT team, because I ain't going nowhere.

That's pretty much the reaction I'm going to give my future wife if she tells me she wants to leave New York.

If my future wife is watching this, I apologize a few years in advance.

I'm totally just joking.

All right, maybe only a little.

Oh, so speaking of future wives, I just said wives.

I mean wife.

I'm not the Sheikh of Dubai.

So speaking of future wife, another reason why I love living here in New York,

I would say, is for the dating.

I personally love it.

I think there are so many amazing people here.

And even if I do go on a date with a girl and it doesn't prosper into something romantic,

I am at least meeting a really interesting person.

At least most of the time.

Definitely have gone on some bad dates.

So I personally am a big fan of the dating life and the single life here in New York.

But I would say the one thing I'm not a big fan of is how much dating costs.

I went on a date the other day at a place called Scarpetta.

Great pasta, by the way.

And after food, drinks, tax, and tip, it came out to $340.

Speaking of that, guys, you gotta be careful of this thing called the Manhattan Meal Plan.

It's essentially what they call when pretty girls just use guys to go out on expensive dinners, every night of the week.

It's pretty messed up, but also pretty funny at the same time.

Okay, so now the last thing I want to talk about is the main reason why I'm willing to pay so much to live here in New York City.

Dang, that's hot.

So as a lot of you guys know, I am currently in the process of starting a tea company.

Where earlier this year, I spent a month in India and in Sri Lanka, meeting with suppliers and learning everything about tea.

And now I'm preparing to launch in early fall.

Now, taxations aside, I personally believe that being in New York City is the best place you could be to start a new business.

There is so much talent here, and also with living here,

I've been able to meet so many successful people.

Where, as you guys know, with launching this tea company,

I'm trying to do it publicly with trying to go from zero to $1 million in sales in one year.

And in an upcoming video, I meet with a bunch of my different entrepreneur friends and ask them for advice as a millionaire, how to make a million dollars.

I guess my point here is that I credit a lot of my success to living here in New York City because of the people I've been able to befriend here.

It's crazy that I have like three or four billionaires in my contact list.

And just a couple years ago, I was delivering burgers.

So I just think that it's incredible if you do put yourself out there in the city, the people that you'll meet, your network that you'll grow, and the opportunities that will come from it.

Now, will I live here forever?

Well, I guess you guys are gonna have to subscribe to find out.

We'll see you guys next week.

So early fall is the plan to launch the new tea company.

If you guys do want to be up to date and make sure you get your hands on it first,

I will leave a link where you can sign up to the newsletter down below.

I promise it's good.

Really good.