Nice areas for first-time buyers in London (400k)

[firsttimebuyer169]

We are first-time buyers living & working in Canary Wharf but want to buy a 2-bed house in a greener/leafy area within an hour commute to Canary Wharf. Wife works in hospitality so will be easier for her to change jobs to somewhere local wherever we end up moving. Planning to start a family in 2-3 years so looking for a bigger space with parks/outdoor activity/gym options. I also love a bit of cycling over weekend so somewhere easy to get out of London would be nice.

We had an offer accepted on a 2 bed-house in Whitton/Hounslow (TW3) but looks like its gonna fall as the owners don't have building regs for the loft extension work they did in the house & I'm not willing to take the risk.

Currently looking at the following areas: Hounslow, Whitton, Surbiton, New Malden, Cheam, Sutton but haven't found anything that we like.

Any other areas/streets I should be keeping an eye on?

Thanks I'm viewing a house close to that on Cheam Common Road this Saturday. Also viewing one on St Philip's Avenue and one on Longfellow road. Lets see how it goes :)

I would second Hither Green/Lee/Greenwich/Westcombe park - some nice gems out here, good for raising families, multicultural and very easy commute to CW and the city generally eg one stop from Hither Green to London Bridge on half of the trains. Also can’t get more green space than blackheath - it’s one of London’s biggest and where the marathon starts each year and home to the biggest free fireworks in London. The river and beauty of Greenwich are also close by

There are plenty of Indian shops near Lewisham which is nearby to to the above

So we loved the 2-bed house we saw in Worcester Park last Saturday and went and saw it again. We've now had an offer accepted on it. It's on St. Phillips Ave, 10-12 min walk to Worcester Park station so about 1 hour commute to Canary Wharf via Waterloo.

Really excited about it but we've have one offer fall through before so fingers crossed for this one!

Thanks all for all the lovely suggestions.

Well done! Fingers crossed for things working out this time.