$100 Challenge in America’s Most Expensive Supermarket

I made it to Barrow, Alaska - the northernmost tip of the USA. And my first order of business was going to the local supermarket to see how expensive everything was!! $20 for a roll of toilet paper? $7 for a Gatorade?

Join me in this $100 challenge to see how many things I could get in America’s Most Expensive Supermarket!

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WHO AM I?
My name is Drew Binsky and I've been to all 197 countries in the world. I make travel videos about people, culture, and anything else I find interesting on the road. My ultimate goal is to inspire you to travel far and wide because our planet is beautiful!

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[Prickly_Cactus_]

My friend lives in a very remote part of the world, only accessible via a tiny plane or a 4 day hike through the Himalayan Mountains. (Tiny village in Nepal, very high elevation, very isolated) however despite that the markets have been able to keep their prices at affordable levels for most of the residents. He is definitely very thankful for that, if the prices where like this, he and his family would starve. Made me wonder how prices there are able to stay so low there despite the remoteness.

[AverytheCubanAmerican]

I love how it says "Everyday Low Price!" at 4:57 and it's 14.99 for 12 cans of Dr. Pepper...wow 💀. And yup, there's a Filipino restaurant there! The northernmost carinderia in the world! This is the same situation with the communities of northern Quebec like Puvirnituq! Air Inuit uses Boeing 737s for Combi purposes, as in they carry both passengers and cargo, and they do this throughout the year because there are no roads connecting these communities to the rest of Quebec. This really puts into perspective just how lucky we are in more developed places like the Lower 48 states compared to remote places like Puvirnituq and Utqiagvik, and we should be thankful regardless for what we have.

In McMurdo Station, Antarctica, they get one ship a YEAR for food shipments to the base to feed the researchers. This means because they're stuck with whatever they got from that one shipment, they end up recycling food and serving it as leftovers. That also includes serving expired food because well, when you're in a remote place like Antarctica...an expiration date is just a suggestion. And the researchers need a huge number of calories to work out in harsh temperatures

[deathboy]

Barrow, Alaska is also 2, 077 km south of the North Pole and just 800 km east of Russia

[PonderingDolphin]

As always a fantastic video; really enjoyed seeing the prices of items in Alaska. Keep up the great work and look forward to what’s next, all the best !

[kemasuk]

Growing up in Nome was quite similar, but it had 2 stores (Alaska Commercial Company and a Safeway).
Nome however gets 2 grocery barges a year (I think Utqiagvik gets 1 a year, if weather permits), so people majorly bulk order, outside of trips where they mail food to themselves.

[slumberinc]

8:58... in Sweden that shampoo is like $2 ... Crazy prices..

[tomcarter]

What's scary, with UK inflation, some of these prices didn't really phase me too much 😂

Paper towels for top brand, for 2 big ones, is easily $6-7

12 cans of coke will be $8-10

[noahmetradon]

IN TRINIDAD it would b cheaper but not buy much cause we import a lot but also have alot of things we dont need to import so it varies in price

[frankmiranda]

I live in NYC, and as expensive it is in certain markets for certain food products, Barrow definitely takes the prize for the most expensive Supermarket.

[thomastevis]

3:36 that is literally where I live right across from the grove

[themediterraneanguy]

Great content, as always a fantastic video, I really enjoyed seeing Alaska. TAKE CARE

[OptimaGamingTeam]

The same stuff down in Wichita, KS would cost closer to $35 which is still relatively high compared to a decade ago but it shows the disparities between locations.

[ritageee]

America’s most expensive grocery store is Erewhon😄 You should re-try this challenge there!

[goose]

Im surprised that there's Filipinos there honestly I was like wow!! Besides that these prices Alaska is what I'm expecting to see in grocery stores with these inflation happening now

[SupremeLeaderKimJong-un]

The Utqiagvik/Barrow area has been home to the Iñupiat for more than 1, 500 years. Archaeological sites in the area indicate the Iñupiat lived around Utqiagvik as far back as 500 AD. Remains of 16 sod dwelling mounds, from the Birnirk culture of about 800, can be seen on the shore of the Arctic Ocean. The city's Iñupiaq name refers to a place for gathering wild roots. It is derived from the Iñupiat word utqiq, a word also used for Beringian springbeauty which is a perennial herb indigenous to Alaska, Siberia, and northwestern Canada. The name was first recorded by European explorers in 1853 as "Ot-ki-a-wing" by Commander Rochfort Maguire of the Royal Navy.

The former name Barrow was derived from Point Barrow (which is 9 miles northeast of the city; and is the actual northernmost point in the US) and was originally a general designation because non-native Alaskan residents found it easier to pronounce than the Iñupiaq name. Point Barrow in turn was named after Sir John Barrow of the British Admiralty by explorer Frederick William Beechey in 1825. It wasn't until 2016 that the city approved changing its name to Utqiagvik.

[Skittlezz]

I'm curious to know the salaries/hourly wages of everyone living there because these prices are insane. At least in NY City they pay "premium" wages to slightly offset the cost of living.

[oceans.and.deserts]

I guess I shouldn't complain about inflation in America. I went grocery shopping this evening and bought over 4 recyclable bags full of groceries for just under $70 via a lot of sale items and using store coupons. I used to spend around $30 per trip, but at least it's not as bad as Barrow, Alaska. Wow!

[Jimmy_Boy_Kalahati]

This is crazy. I really wonder if the locals are earning more money or are there trade-offs like tax breaks, super cheap homes and property taxes, super low fuel prices, etc.

[nicoleyoshihara]

I'm so happy I found out you have this channel! I like both of your channels! Thank you for all of your hard work!^_^

[Goldrefinedthrufire]

That's getting close to what I pay in Sask Canada now. In a city. But a year ago it would have been outrageous