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Original poster

How long could a small three-bed flat work for our family?

108 replies

brbttyl · 27/07/2026 17:53

How long realistically do you think we can live in this flat for?

I'm buying a flat to have kids in. It's 3 bed and 80 square meters so a very small 3 bed. It's also the biggest that we can afford as we live in an expensive area.

Both DP and I freelance from home. The living and bathroom are big family size and everything else is on the small side.

We want two kids and will start TTC next August.

Kids start local school age 5 years here. It's so oversubscribed that siblings are not prioritised unless they're in the catchment area. So if you move, your younger child likely wont get in.

So we can either move within catchment which next step up for a home would be extra £300k as they are so in demand and really its just a larger three bedroom in a better decorated building. Or move out of catchment.

This primary school is great. It would mean we would need to live in the flat for about 9 years to get two kids into catchment. Assuming the kids are 2/3 years apart and we live in the flat for 2 years before the birth.

How long realistically do you think we can live in this flat for?

OP posts:
Blimms · 27/07/2026 17:55

It depends on storage, bedroom sizes, dining space etc. do you have a floor plan?

LoafofSellotape · 27/07/2026 17:55

You're skipping too far ahead, buy the flat and see what happens from there. Three beds are fine. We were in a 2 bed u told ds was 6. Does it have outside space?

anniegun · 27/07/2026 17:56

Thats too small for a growing family. You could manage with one baby, beyond that no chance

clareykb · 27/07/2026 17:58

We had twins in a 2 bed house until they were late primary age was fine but it agree you are skipping forwards a long way things change.

Octavia64 · 27/07/2026 17:58

The freelancing from home is likely to be the issue. Three bedrooms is doable almost indefinitely especially if there’s outside space relatively near but you need presumably office type set up for two adults as well?

ApolloandDaphne · 27/07/2026 17:59

There are so many unknown variables in this that I would just crack on with your plans ttc and see how things unfold further down the line. You are pretty much two years away from potentially having any children so no pint angsting about this stuff right now.

Original poster
brbttyl · 27/07/2026 17:59

@LoafofSellotape I get the keys in 3 weeks!

Two Bedrooms are 2.5 by 2.9
One bedroom is 3.6 by 3.2 with a boiler in the cupboard
living room is 4.8 by 4.9

There is an attic and a big cupboard for storage along with a few fitted cupboards

It is a flat so theres a garden but its shared and unkept

OP posts:
BirdLandedonmyHead · 27/07/2026 18:00

Realistically, will one bedroom need to be an office?

Original poster
brbttyl · 27/07/2026 18:01

@BirdLandedonmyHead yes. I have a friend who has one kid in a similar set up and she has her office desk in her daughters room so when the kid is in childcare she uses it, and if her husband is doing the childcare he keeps her out the bedroom. But thats just one kid

OP posts:
Cantwaitforwinter · 27/07/2026 18:02

We lived in a similar sized flat when DS was born, it worked great until I became pregnant with DD when he was around 18 months.

We had a huge open plan living area and all bedrooms were doubles but it wasn’t enough for two growing children, the no outside space was also a huge issue.

RandomMess · 27/07/2026 18:05

A lot can happen in 4/5 years. If you can’t cope then you may have to completely relocate, north numbers may continue to fall so catchment isn’t an issue for siblings etc. You may have twins!

Myskyscolour · 27/07/2026 18:05

What’s the long plan? Live there long enough to get both kids in the local school and then move out of catchment?
If yes, why not find a neighbourhood where you can both buy a house and have your children attend the local school?

RandomMess · 27/07/2026 18:07

I just calculated our first house was 73 square meters and had 4DC, moved when the youngest was 9.

Original poster
brbttyl · 27/07/2026 18:07

@Myskyscolour I can't really imagine living anywhere else. We like the school and cities. we don't want to move rural. Alot of our work is also in London so need to access a train station easily.

OP posts:
Original poster
brbttyl · 27/07/2026 18:08

@RandomMess wow , how many bedrooms?

OP posts:
RandomMess · 27/07/2026 18:13

3 bed, 2 small doubles and a decent single. Downstairs was completely open plan.

Original poster
brbttyl · 27/07/2026 18:18

@RandomMess I am very impressed! I assume no-one worked from home?

OP posts:
Witchywoo41 · 27/07/2026 18:19

We lived in a 2 bed, 78m2 with 2 kids until they were 12 and 8, with three bedrooms we probably wouldn’t have moved, it will be the working from home that makes it difficult

Myskyscolour · 27/07/2026 18:19

brbttyl · 27/07/2026 18:07

@Myskyscolour I can't really imagine living anywhere else. We like the school and cities. we don't want to move rural. Alot of our work is also in London so need to access a train station easily.

I get that, I guess my point was that it will be way harder to move once the kids are settled at school.
But back to your question, it is doable as long as

  1. the 3rd bedroom is also used as a playroom / storage for kids things, not just home office.
  2. the children’s sleep patterns are similar (I had twins, but one was an early riser and the other one a night own - we had to split them up when they were around 5 because of it)
littlecornishsea · 27/07/2026 18:20

I live in a 2 bed flat with 3 children so five of us in total, think it's 90sqm. Have our own garden. Moved in 2015 just me and my husband and still here. Never even occured to me that it's an issue, it works for us! Our mortgage is teeny tiny and we have a big, happy life (just a smaller home!)

Rothburypixie · 27/07/2026 18:20

I think you are thinking to far ahead, I know you are set on 1 school but it could be six/seven years before your child is reception age a lot can change in that time.

The flat and space you can work around, lots of families cleverly use smaller spaces.

Original poster
brbttyl · 27/07/2026 18:22

@Myskyscolour I imagine the living room to double as the playroom, there are lots of cupboards for toys and its the only room with lots of space. do you see if working if we do that?

OP posts:
Bananacrepewithnuts · 27/07/2026 18:24

Blimey.

9 years is a long time.

Other Primary Schools are available.

RandomMess · 27/07/2026 18:25

No this was pre-Covid so no working from home, would have been hard work, though if they were in childcare it would have been doable. We had the middle sized bedroom, it was cozy. No room for a cot! I slept in the smallest room with the baby.

Octavia64 · 27/07/2026 18:30

Fine with a shared garden.

I had twins in a similar size house.
one bedroom for you
one bedroom for working from
one bedroom for child 1 and eventually child 2.

if you’ve got an attic and garden (even if shared) you are ahead of the game