An American expat who's experienced life on both sides of the pond has spilled the beans on her biggest culture shock in Manchester. In her video, 'American in the UK: 15 British Culture Shocks', globe-trotter Kristin Wilson, of the Traveling with Kristin YouTube fame, dives into surprises she encountered in the UK. Manchester, Kristin's former stomping ground, proved eye-opening.

Amongst revelations about personal safety, culinary discoveries, couples' grocery shopping escapades, admirable recycling efforts, and "common sense" signage, it was the price of bricks and mortar that truly threw her off balance. Though Kristin was aware of London's wallet-draining reputation, the Mancunian housing market left her reeling. Kristin revealed her astonishment, saying: "But what's probably shocked me the most is the price of housing here. Now, I know that London is expensive, but I didn't expect the market to be so competitive in Manchester."

Speculating on the cause, she surmised: "I've heard that it could be because a lot of people are moving out of London to Manchester in search of cheaper housing, so maybe that's putting some upward pressure on the prices."

Kristin then detailed the cutthroat nature of house hunting in Manchester, likening it to the heated competition of New York or LA: "But I was so surprised at how competitive it was here, even to the point that if you go to an open house, there could be 30 other people competing with you for the same property, and that's something that you would see in New York or LA."

Kristin expressed her surprise at the state of the UK property market, noting that prices were "really high" and competition was "super competitive". In September last year, it was reported that the price gap seemed to be narrowing between the north and south.

Exclusive Land Registry analysis by the MEN revealed five areas in Greater Manchester with average property prices exceeding London's former 12-month average sold property price of £694,731.

These high-valued Greater Manchester locales included Hale Barns, Ashley, Bowdon, Dunham Massey, and Hale. That said, In London, other properties, including detached homes, have fetched an average of £1,274,365.

As reported by GB News, UK property prices have continued to rise, with increases recorded across all regions. The North East saw the most significant annual inflation rate at 9.1 percent, up from 6.9 percent in December, as per figures from the ONS.

Yet, when comparing average house prices throughout England, there was a 4.8 percent increase compared to the previous year, with the average price reaching £291,000 in January of this year.