Which scenario for house move (schools & lifestyle)?

[HomeTimes]

NC for anonymity. I am looking for opinions on these two scenarios for my family's house moves in the next couple of years.

Context is we are youngish, newly married and I'm pregnant. DH works in Canary Wharf though might be moving to the city, and he works long hours. (That's another story!)

At the moment we live in a practical flat we bought to get on the housing ladder. Property worth about £550k. The area is convenient transport-wise (think Stratford ish area) but not surrounded by much green space, and without much community spirit. It's been great living here for the last few years as a young couple. However, we don't know any of our neighbours and I really want to be able to walk to a green space with my baby rather than get the tube. I am also starting to think a sense of community would be good for me as a mum who'll be doing the lions share during the week.

Considerations / priorities then are access to excellent green space, schools and proximity to DH work to cut down commute time. The commute time is particularly relevant for the next 5 years or so. Thereafter DH should have been promoted sufficiently that his job will change and commute times won't matter as much (so we'll be able to live further out).

So with this in mind...
Option A:
We don't stretch ourselves too much, and just move like for like (to another 2-bed flat) but to an area with good green space, nice primaries and good sense of community for me and a quick commute for DH Eg Blackheath, Maze Hill, Vanbrugh Park. I've seen decent 2-beds for 5-600k. This option supports our lives for the next 9-10 years while DC is small and keeps commute short whilst helping us have good quality of life at weekends with access to the Heath and lots of community stuff. I'm drawn to this option because we would keep our outgoings the same, and not stretch ourselves financially.
This option would mean once DC is in Year 5(?) we would need to look at Secondary school situation and likely move to an area with better secondaries, eg Alexandra Palace, Twickenham, Barnet or further out. By this time we would (hopefully) be able to afford a bigger home. (I should add we are not sure if we would have a second DC, but we are cautious due to finances, our relationship, climate change etc. However if we did then 2 DC could share bedrooms up until this point).

Option B
We think about the secondary school situation as early as now, and with the next move we position ourselves to move to those areas instead. This would probably mean stretching our budget and spending a bit more, eg to live in Richmond borough, but then we would be making roots in an area where we anticipate the DC would go to secondary school. We might need to upsize the property later on but at least we would be in the right area. DH commute would be longer with this option, but we would be thinking ahead to 11 years time.

So in a nutshell, do you think it unwise for us to move somewhere to make the next 10 years better, or should we be thinking more strategically and looking ahead to secondary already?

My inclination would be to sit tight and to try to build up as much equity as possible in your current apartment. Keeping your costs low gives you both choices and proximity to home with good childcare (urban area) options also gives flexibility and frankly a lot more time with your child(ren).
Moved from the East Greenwich area two years ago. 3 bed house is £800k -£1.2m plus in catchment for good primaries. Flats probably still within range. It's a leafy area and we loved living there but it's polluted and traffic is so so bad.

We moved out of London two years ago at a point in our careers when it is acceptable to work on the train or from home a day a week. Being close to home was a life saver in the early years though.
We moved for schools and also aging parents so don't forget about that as an issue. Kids were in a great school but additional needs made outside london options very attractive. It's taken 2 yrs to settle the oldest one in though.

What will you be doing? If you are staying home then the community feel is important but if you are working I would just stay put and save now, moving when dc is 3 before school applications

I would either stay where you are or go with Option B.

I was never a country girl but for me when I had a small baby, the important things for me were baby groups, shops and cafes close by and a park of some sort to push on swings etc. So you may find that staying where you are suits for the next 2 or so years.

After that you can maybe afford a small terrace in your desired area and can work up from there.

Richmond is lovely and there is this teeny but lovely house for sale www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-72112171.html

I'm leaning towards staying put in our practical flat for another 2-3 years and then having a serious look into moving. Although I crave green space, we do have excellent access to transport, things like swimming groups / water babies, classes, nursery nearby and shops all close by, as well as DH's very short commute. It would give us another 3 years to save and increase salaries. Also by then the Brexit thing might be sorted and prices may have stabilised, (that or the Tories will have plunged us into dystopia) but either way we should have a bit more visibility.

My work is very flexible (think schools consultant type work) and I usually work from home with bouts of a few days work here and there in other areas like Barbican, London Bridge or St Johns Wood. At the moment I run my own business so I'm not sure what I'm going to do about maternity. No SMP but will need to take a break. We are by Jubilee Line so it's all really easy at the moment.

Who knows how we will feel in 3 years time or how our work will be. I am leaning towards Blackheath still but perhaps by then we will feel ready for Richmond area, though I've heard the District line from Richmond to Waterloo is often far slower than it's meant to be.

From Richmond, you’d only catch the district line to go to a museum in South Ken or something. City commuters catch trains.

Are you a primary or secondary consultant? I did that type of job for years and found that working in secodaries really made me form views on areas. Have you thought to try and do a bit in schools around the areas you’re considering? Or even a bit of supply teaching?

@HomeTimes IMO I think you'll love this tool called SearchSmartly. It takes all the things into account that you mentioned to suggested properties that would be best suited to your needs across London.

You can drop in your budget, DH's commute constraints, your importance on green space and schools, etc, and it shows your "matches" based on how well they fit your needs. Curious to hear what areas it suggests for you?