Where would you buy for 900k in London?

[SD25]

3-bed (minimum) house. No further out than Zone 4. Decent access to Paddington. Prefer urban feel than suburban. Good high street and schools for DD.

We like SE London but Dulwich is a bit out of price range for something nice so perhaps Forest Hill/Sydenham but not sure about schools. West London we don't know so well but most of the nicer areas seem too expensive.

I know it may not happen but the disruption & future noise from any Heathrow expansion may be something to think about when looking west.

Because they claim benefits, mostly

A family member, fairly new to London (last 5 years) is thinking of buying with her partner, both city professionals so on a high wage. They have been so disheartened by the type of property they can afford for £600-£700k. Where they are from this would buy a huge, lovely house but they are stuck in London career wise. It's so depressing to drop 3/4 of a million on some of the poky houses posted on this thread. She won't countenance past zone 3 as she's used to living in zone 1 and said she'd rather go right out to somewhere like St Albans. I think that's crazy as it's just as expensive then you have that long commute too and train fares.

@Turmerictolly what some of my younger colleagues have done is skip the flat stage which traditionally they would have bought in say z2 & gone for a house in z4 or 5. Saves stamp duty costs, future proofs for longer & commuting costs aren't too steep compared to home counties.

Thanks @boxyboxs, I've tried to tell them this but they won't listen unfortunately. I think they'll regret any move to the Home Counties and would be so much better off in zone 4 where it's still very easy to get into the centre.