400K£ budget - where to buy in London?

[canadianinlondon]

My husband and I live in a one bedroom flat in Zone 2 (Caledonian Road) and we work near Liverpool St and Kennington stations respectively. We would like to try starting for kids in a year's time and are thinking of where to buy (as well as when to buy - before/during/after pregnancy?). We would like to stick around a budget of 400K£ (in case we need to be on a single income), although we could push up to 500K£ if we really needed to. Looking for a 2-3 bedroom flat/maisonette close to transit, can be a fixer upper, within 30 minutes commute into the city. Ideally it's in an up and coming family friendly area, and something we can sell or rent out in 10 years time (if we decide to move back to North America). We are fairly open to areas (except for East London). We've also always lived near a tube/overground, and I've seen quite a few recommendations on this site for areas that are train accessible only. This would be completely new for us, and not sure if we would want to depend on a specific train schedule vs. tube/overground that comes every few minutes (my colleagues always complain about train delays).

Suggested areas to look? Excited to explore areas on the weekends as we start on this new chapter!

Thank you in advance for your help!

Thank you all so much for the feedback and ideas so far!

We did some viewings in North London near Walthamstow station (Victoria Line, Overground, Train). We really like the area, very young family friendly, price point works, but just a bit too north for my husband (would be 2 hours a day in total to/from work). We are now looking in South London (south of Northern Line near Colliers Wood/Tooting Bec/Broadway) and SW London near Overground (Forest Hill, Sydenham) and have adjusted our budget expectations to be more like 450-500K£. Fingers crossed!

With the revised budget, it might be worth looking round South Wimbledon or nearer the town centre. South Wimbledon has the northern line and Wimbledon is on the district line but with super quick trains to Waterloo as well.

For 500k you might be able to get a 2 bed flat. There will be some very smart looking roads and the area feels generally more established than the others on your list. Wimbledon Village is as posh as they get + Wimbledon Common is connected to Putney Heath and Richmond Park forming thousands of acres of green spaces. IMO it might feel like you’re getting your money’s worth a lot more that way.

Also no offence to people in Walthamstow but given the stabbiness and drugs in the area, I’d say you’ve had a lucky escape.