One of the questions I hear regularly from buyers looking on the Eastside is:
“Do you think I’d be happier in Silver Lake or Los Feliz?”
And I understand why.
The two neighborhoods sit beside each other. Both have beautiful architecture, hills, restaurants, independent businesses and some of the most desirable residential streets in Los Angeles. Buyers often search both at the same time.
But I don't think choosing between them should start with which neighborhood is “better.”
It should start with how you want to live.
Silver Lake Feels a Little More Eclectic
Silver Lake has an energy that's difficult to define, which is probably part of its appeal.
There isn't one architectural style, one commercial center or even one version of the neighborhood.
Life around the reservoir feels different from Sunset Junction. The hills above the neighborhood can feel private and surprisingly removed, while living closer to Sunset puts you much more in the middle of restaurants, coffee shops and everyday activity.
The architecture follows the same pattern.
You'll find Mid-Century Modern homes, Spanish houses, bungalows, contemporary architecture and properties that have been changed and added to over generations.
There's an informality to Silver Lake that I think many buyers respond to.
It doesn't feel overly polished—and that's part of the charm.
Los Feliz Has a Different Kind of Presence
Cross into Los Feliz and the feeling changes.
There's often a little more grandeur to the housing, particularly as you move north into the hills.
Spanish Colonial Revival, Mediterranean, Tudor and Traditional homes are an important part of the neighborhood's architectural character, and you'll find properties with larger proportions and a sense of permanence that's quite different from many parts of Silver Lake.
Then you have the streets around Los Feliz Village and Hillhurst and Vermont avenues, where restaurants, cafés, shops and neighborhood institutions create their own version of walkable Los Angeles.
And looming above all of it is Griffith Park.
That relationship with the park is one of the things I think makes Los Feliz particularly special. Having one of Los Angeles' greatest outdoor spaces essentially in your backyard changes the experience of living there.
What About Walkability?
This is where neighborhood labels can become misleading.
Someone can tell me they want a “walkable house in Silver Lake,” but that doesn't tell me nearly enough.
Walkable to what?
If morning coffee, restaurants and shops are important, proximity to Sunset Junction may matter more than simply having a Silver Lake address.
The same applies in Los Feliz.
A home near Hillhurst or Vermont can offer a very different daily routine from a property higher in the hills.
In both neighborhoods, a few blocks can completely change the experience.
That's why I think looking at a Walk Score—or a map—is only the beginning.
You really need to understand the street.
And Then There Are the Hills
Both neighborhoods offer hillside living, but buyers sometimes underestimate what that means until they start looking at houses.
A hillside property can give you privacy, views, incredible light and a feeling of separation from the city.
It can also mean narrow streets, limited parking, steep driveways and a lot more time spent getting up and down the hill.
Some buyers walk into a hillside house, see the view and immediately think, This is why I moved to Los Angeles.
Others make the drive once and say, Absolutely not.
Neither reaction is wrong.
It's about knowing yourself.
Architecture Can Make the Decision for You
Sometimes a buyer starts with a neighborhood preference and ends up buying a house somewhere else because they fall in love with the architecture.
I see this happen frequently.
Someone convinced they want Silver Lake walks into a beautiful Spanish home in Los Feliz and suddenly the neighborhood boundary becomes considerably less important.
Or someone focused on Los Feliz discovers a Mid-Century house tucked into the Silver Lake hills that feels completely unlike anything else they've seen.
That's one of the reasons I encourage buyers not to become too rigid about neighborhood names early in a search.
Sometimes the right house tells you where you want to live.
So Which One Is More Expensive?
This is where I'd resist giving a simple answer.
Both neighborhoods contain a wide range of properties, and price can change dramatically depending on the street, architecture, condition, lot, views and exact location.
A beautifully renovated architectural home on a great street isn't necessarily competing with the house three doors away.
It may be competing with another exceptional property across the neighborhood—or across the boundary in Los Feliz.
That's why neighborhood-wide averages can be useful for understanding the market broadly, but they're much less useful when deciding what one particular house is worth.
Silver Lake or Los Feliz?
If you want me to reduce the difference to a sentence, I'd put it this way:
Silver Lake tends to feel more eclectic and informal. Los Feliz tends to feel a little more established and architectural.
But that's a generalization—and there are plenty of streets and homes that completely contradict it.
Which is exactly the point.
Los Angeles isn't a city where choosing a ZIP code tells you everything about the life you're going to have there.
The house matters.
The street matters.
Where you get your coffee matters. How often you want to walk somewhere matters. Whether you love being in the hills or would rather be closer to the activity matters.
The better question isn't “Silver Lake or Los Feliz?”
It's “Which version of Los Angeles feels most like you?”
Considering Silver Lake or Los Feliz?
If you're deciding between the two, don't start by drawing a boundary on a map. Start with the way you want to live, and then find the streets—and eventually the house—that support it.
If you're considering buying or relocating to Silver Lake, Los Feliz or the surrounding Los Angeles neighborhoods, I'm always happy to help you make sense of the differences.
Nicolas Huneault
Los Angeles Real Estate | Compass
