An English engineer with a midlife crisis drives 6,500 miles through the American heartland—and sticks it out as the only old guy at the hostel.

A would-be Kingslayer on finding a safe space in a crowded city for one extremely competitive and quirky new pastime.

A small-town Serbian boy on dreaming big and living large…and eavesdropping on loud-talking New Yorkers.

An architecture student from Shanghai on why the buildings of New York have thoughts and feelings—and how that can be truly terrifying.

A blissed-out divorcee on the joys of “Conscious Uncoupling,” learning to be selfish, and mother-daughter bonding on the NYC subway.

A determined thru hiker on dodging bears and battling Lyme disease—and trekking across NYC.

A big-talking Spanish señora on the kindness of strangers, what it’s like to be the loudest snorer in a roomful of men, and how a fly-by bird-bombing made her day.

A safari-guide-turned-world-traveler on brushes with beasts, and how the real New York compares to the Big Apple of the movies.

An Aussie post-grad on circling the globe, getting lost in New York, and the unexpected comfort of walking shoulder-to-shoulder with thousands of strangers.