On the move again. But this time, we won't go far.

We've been living in the Sugar Cube for almost a year now - longer than we've lived anywhere together. And we like it so much we'd like to live here forever.

But the call of home ownership is strong. And we do love Hermosa Beach. I may never get over the fact that it's not actually Saltburn, or Kentish Town, but despite those drawbacks it is a wonderful place to live. Time to put down some roots, we think.

So we're house hunting again.

For once, refreshingly, we are looking for a home close to where we currently live. And when I say close, I mean really close. Like, less than a mile.

More than even half a mile east would involve being too far from the beach. More than a mile south would take us too far from Hermosa proper. More than a mile north would involve being in Manhattan Beach where the lots are bigger, the cars are flashier, and our best chance of a home there is a 1000 square foot tumbledown beach cottage with a 1950s kitchen. Aka a 'tear down'.

Which brings me to the other criteria: 3 bedrooms, a little outside space, and a reasonably liveable condition. And something else that's harder to express, but we'll know it when we see it: a street which looks like it might have good trick or treating, and a generally neighbourhoody vibe.

And so, the boundaries of our search are clearly drawn. It's a slightly larger area than the one I outlined for our London flathunt back in 2012. But not by much. Our criteria are somewhat more specific. But not by much.

The pink patch is our bubble: Hermosa, Manhattan Beach and El Porto

This is the roughly single square mile in which we can realistically live

The advantage of searching in a small area, where we already live, is that it's very easy to drive, run or walk by any prospective homes. And we know most of the streets pretty well.

The disadvantage of our nice, tight, close, boundaries? At the current count there is a total of 1 family house for sale* in this area. Just the one.

Good job we love the Sugar Cube. We may be here for some time yet.

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*within our budget. Which rules out that $16m mansion on The Strand, sadly.