Lucy, 26, made the move to the UK last March after meeting her boyfriend on TikTok. Now living together in Chorlton, the content creator spoke to us as part of our Where I Live series
06:22, 09 Apr 2026
Lucy has now lived in Manchester for a year(Image: Supplied)
A woman who upped sticks from Florida to Manchester has shared the major differences of living in the United States compared to the UK. Lucy, 26, made the bold move overseas in March 2025 after meeting her now-boyfriend Alex on social media.
The full-time content creator, who was born in Jacksonville, shares home decor and thrifted items she’s sourced online. Alex followed her TikTok page and the pair began talking from there, which soon blossomed into a long-distance relationship.
After dating for nine months, Lucy decided to take the plunge and move to Manchester, with the couple now renting a flat together in Chorlton. Lucy spoke to the M.E.N. as part of our Where I Live series where we chat to a different renter or homeowner about their journey and how they’ve made their home their own.
“I moved from Jacksonville, Florida, which is where I was raised,” Lucy told the M.E.N. “I am a content creator full-time and I also make thrifted bundles for people. They’ll send me photos from their Pinterest boards of home decor they like, then I go out and shop for them and send them the mystery bundle.”
Lucy works as a content creator and a supplies thrifted bundles (Image: Supplied )
After meeting her boyfriend online, Lucy decided to make a life-changing move from the US to the UK. “We weirdly met on TikTok, he had been following me for my home decor and then we started talking which turned into a long distance relationship,” said Lucy.
“We weren’t dating for long before I moved. We started talking in June 2024, then by the following March I moved here. I just thought ‘I’m in my 20s’, if it all goes bad I can just move back. But luckily, it hasn’t, so we’re all good.
“Luckily, I’m a dual citizen. My mom is from Glasgow, so it was easier for me to move over here than for him to go through the Visa process to come to the US. He grew up in St. Albans, but moved to Manchester for university and then stayed here as he really fell in love with the city.”
The content creator says adapting to life in Manchester has been an adjustment(Image: Supplied )
Although she had heard of Manchester, Lucy had never visited before. “Whenever we would come over to the UK, we were mainly visiting family in Glasgow. I’d been to London maybe once. So Manchester was totally new to me. I visited in September 2024 and then again in February 2025 before I moved over here,” she said.
“The move was quite daunting, but it was made better because I knew that I did have family here if anything was to happen. But it was very daunting especially because Florida is just such a completely different lifestyle, and that’s been one of the major adjustments, as well as the weather.”
Lucy’s bedroom(Image: Supplied)
Lucy and Alex are currently renting a flat in Chorlton, which she has recently been redecorating to make it feel like her own place. “When I first moved in, Alex was renting with a roommate. He has just recently moved out, so we have been trying to make the flat feel more like us and less like a shared space,” Lucy said.
“Back in Florida I lived in Tampa for about seven years because that’s where I went to university, so I was renting there,” Lucy explained. “Then just before I moved here, I went back to Jacksonville to live with my parents. We had an upstairs space that was like a guest room with its own bathroom. So I remodelled that and redecorated it to live in before moving over here.”
Comparing renting in both Florida and Manchester, Lucy said: “Renting is definitely cheaper here than in Florida, especially in Tampa. It’s very expensive there because it’s such a growing community and it’s close to the beach. A lot of people want to live there, so they are just raising the rent prices. I think here you get more bang for your buck whenever you’re renting.”
Lucy enjoys sourcing second hand items(Image: Supplied)
Speaking about making her Chorlton flat feel more like home, Lucy said she has taken on a lot of DIY. “I am a very big DIYer. I love finding stuff on Facebook Marketplace or at charity shops and DIYing it to feel more me.
“I’ve just been searching all the second hand sites and have recently got some new furniture pieces. When I moved in, it was all IKEA plain white furniture which just is not me at all. So, I’ve been slowly replacing all of that stuff with vintage items that I found.
“I’d say my interior style is very eclectic. I also really like pulling in elements from the Southwest, and some pieces that remind me of Florida. I also like mid-century modern. My boyfriend is very mid-century modern, kind of on the minimalist side. So it’s been interesting trying to balance our two styles without either one of us feeling overwhelmed.”
The kitchen area in Lucy’s home(Image: Supplied)
Despite not being in a relationship for long, Lucy said that living together has been a success. “I was a little bit nervous about it, just because I know whenever I like some home decor, I want it. But he’s very open and basically if it makes me happy, he’ll come to terms with it.
“He’s been very supportive because he knows how difficult it is moving, so he’s been helping me make the place feel more home. I just brought my cat over, so that definitely helps make it feel more like home.”
Lucy is still doing content creating, but admits that it has been an adjustment which surprised her. “It’s been weirdly difficult. Before I moved, I had this confidence that, since I’m a content creator, I can just create content from wherever and it’ll be okay,” she admitted.
Lucy has bought a lot of furniture from Facebook Marketplace(Image: Supplied)
“But it has actually been a really big struggle, especially since a big part of my identity was thrifting. The charity shops here just do not compare to what they are in America, they’re huge warehouses where everything is a dollar and you have to dig for stuff and it’s totally new stock every day.
“Here it’s definitely pricier, the stock isn’t turned over as often and I can’t find the same type of home decor stuff that I was able to in America. So, that’s definitely been a big struggle because now I’m having to rediscover what kind of content to post.”
Lucy also admitted that making friends has been a struggle. “It has been difficult, especially since I don’t have a typical 9 to 5 job, so I’m not meeting people that way. It definitely is a lot more pressure of putting yourself out there and saying ‘I am lonely, I need friends’, and then people have been nice reaching out.”
Lucy loves how walkable Manchester is
“I have met a few people on social media. One of them is another American, she was travelling on a gap year and then the first night she landed in Manchester she met her now fiance. It’s been nice connecting with different Americans that have moved here, there’s so many more here than I would expect.”
Another thing that surprised Lucy is the cost of living here, especially when it comes to shopping. “Groceries are so much cheaper here. Whenever I show my friends and family back home how many groceries I got for one amount their jaws drop. In America you can buy toothpaste, deodorant and a mascara and it’ll cost you probably 60 dollars. The cost of living out there is extremely bad right now, so I’d say overall it is cheaper here.”
Lucy also loves how walkable Manchester is, especially living around Chorlton. “I like how many different types of stores and businesses there are in just a small area,” she said. “Chorlton has everything you need, if you need to go get a quick birthday present or something good to eat it’s all super close and super walkable.”
Lucy says she misses going to the beach in Florida(Image: Supplied)
Despite this, she of course does miss the weather in Florida. “Winter was brutal here and summer is an adjustment because I’m so used to going to the beach every single day, whether it’s before work or after work,” says Lucy. “You’re just constantly at the beach or in a bikini and that is just not the case here. So I’m having to rediscover what other hobbies I have apart from going to the beach all the time.”
Reflecting on her move, Lucy says that it has taught her that she is much stronger than she first thought. “I would say that one of the biggest things that I learned about myself is that I’m stronger than I thought I was,” she says. “Because even leading up to the move, there were so many nights that I’d wake up in the middle of the night and I’d be like, ‘am I actually about to do this?’.
“I went back and forth a lot and I was like, ‘I don’t think I’m strong enough to do this’, but this has taught me that I am capable of doing it and making friends and building a new life from scratch.”
Lucy likes collecting second hand items(Image: Supplied)
Speaking about future plans, Lucy added: “I think for the long term we see ourselves being in Manchester. We want to buy our own house in the future. We’ve started looking at areas and we definitely like the more suburban areas. Chorlton or Didsbury would be a dream.”