Help with a future-proofed purchase?

Hello there Apple enthusiasts; let me cut to the chase. Like many others, I too have been smitten by the new M1 MacBook line-up and the Apple Silicon's performance. As such, I plan on purchasing a MacBook Air. The following question has probably been asked hundreds of times, but I'd really like to hear some well-informed opinions before I make my decision. I was wondering which particular configuration I should look for when purchasing an M1 MBA, taking into account that money is a resource I don't wish to spend wastefully.

I will be switching from a Linux-based computer, although I have used a Windows PC for over a decade before that. I simply love my iPhone SE (2020) that I purchased last year and I presume that the MacBook will be just as polished with regard to hardware and software. I am somewhat concerned about the Swap memory issue that was brought up by many people recently, and was wondering if a 16 GB model of the MBA would be better for the long run, as I intend to use it for several years (hence, the title of this post). I don't really care much about a higher storage option as I don't really store much of anything on my computer except certain documents that I work with at any given moment. Having said that, I'd like to hear some opinions on whether the 256 GB model will suffice for the kind of usage that I will outline below.

Primarily, I don't work with any particularly CPU or GPU intensive programs. I never really used any of my computers for 'gaming' and I don't intend to, so I suppose the extra GPU core configuration would be wasted on me. However, it'd be nice to know that I can play 'Rise of the Tomb Raider' on it if I so choose. I write a lot, so a good word processor and keyboard is essential (I've heard nothing but good things about the MBA's keyboard). I was contemplating whether to stick to the iWork suite or get MS Office 365, but I suppose I won't know till after I actually get the MacBook. I also occasionally do some coding with VSCode, mostly Python and C/C++. Additionally, how much space does the OS actually take up, as this would be an important factor in deciding whether to get a 512 GB configuration or stick with a 256 GB one. My main concern however would be with the unified memory. A lot of people say that the base $999 MacBook Air should be perfectly fine, but would that still be the case, say, 3-4 years from now? I hope that most of the software will be quickly optimized for the M1 chipsets.

I should not have much of a problem navigating macOS as I'm quite familiar with Unix-based operating systems, and the fact that macOS comes with a native bash shell makes it much more appealing than a Windows PC. So I guess that's about it. I appreciate any and all well-thought-out responses. Cheers!