Overview
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Tenleytown is a small very convenient part of town that sits up Wisconsin Avenue on one of the highest elevations in the District. Conveniently on the Metro Red Line, and blocks away from a number of major roads, there's plenty to do on the commercial strip of Wisconsin Avenue but the side streets are quite, safe, and filled with smaller well maintained houses. There's a shuttle bus (free to American University students and faculty) that goes to the University, the Metro, and a number of buses all intersect here so it's not necessary to own a car but there's plenty of room to have one and not get it scratched. There's a fair range of housing from new condos, to large people-factory style apartment buildings to quaint homes with a front and back yard. A number of residences have been converted to group homes to house up to six or seven university students- so unless you're one of them, be sure to learn who your neighbors are before you sign your lease. Everything you need is at arms reach, from the Safeway grocery store, a handfull of restaurants, a Best Buy, Container Store and Whole Foods. There's a Steak and Eggs, a 24 hour diner sits near it all if your one for midnight cravings, if not theres everything else from sushi to falafel on these streets. There's a public library which just screams neighborhood and even two high schools and an elementary school if you like the sight of backpack laden children walking the sidewalks in the morning. Whatever you could want in a neighborhood is here, and for more variety, its easy to get anywhere with a cab, car or public transport.
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Tenleytown is a varied neighborhood of embassies, universities, news outlets, stores, and restaurants. At the heart of Tenleytown is the international university, American University (AU).
Tenleytown could be known as in mini "college town" and AU could not be located in a better place to support its programs and its students. If you want to live in Tenleytown, there are plenty of apartment buildings, but one of best is the Berkshire. Rent in this area can be pricey, but the area is a wonderful place to live. Given the housing market in DC, much consideration has to be made on the mortgage/ rent debate. However, there can be no debate that Tenleytown is a wonderful neighborhood.
From old widowed granmothers to fraternaty houses there's a mix of everything over here. Its not terribly diverse but you can find culture any where else in the city. The housing is fit for people with a variety of different incomes-- from students crowding into an older run down house to luxury condos and well manicured homes with yards and at times even small pools.
There's everything you need here but there's lots you'd want and wont find. There are plenty of small restaurants, most of which you can sit for a drink but scene-wise, you're going to have to travel a bit if you want to be able to run into the same people at your local "watering hole." Guapos and the Dancing Crab/Malt Shop are probably the closest you'll come to having a proper bar, which isnt great. You'd be better of taking the bus or a cab 10 minutes down Massachussettes to Dupont or 10 minutes down Wisconson to Georgetown.
In this part of town, the cheapest option is having a bedroom in a shared house which is usually reasonably priced and can range from $600 up depending on size and conditions of the house. One bedroom apartments in select buildings or people's basements generally start around $1200 and will go close to 2 k a month depending again on how long ago it was redone. What's key is that Tenleytown is at the crossroads for people en route to Arlington, Bethesda and downtown DC - and an easy commute is priceless for some people. The area is also safe and the threats of getting jumped are far less or none compared to some areas downtown.
The Tenleytown/American University Metro stop on the Redline is the bullseye on the Tenleytown map, smack in the center. A number of buss lines also pass through followed by cabs so getting a ride isn't a problem either. There's generally always free street parking and as long as you're not trying to park on a major street you should be fine as long as you have a proper zone sticker on your car. If you need to drive here and can't find parking there a large garage attached to the Wholefoods and most businesses validate tickets- just behind that there's also a metered parking lot which works for when the garage is closed. There's also a garage at the Bestbuy/Container Store. DO NOT try and park in the CVS or Dominos lot for more than 10 minutes or else you'll get a ticket- everyone does and somehow are surprized when they show up back at their car.
It's a great area of town if this is what youre looking for. If you're new to the city though and are trying to meet people a downtown location might be better.
Since there's more space in this part of town pets are allowed here more than others. Houses more so than apartments but shouldn't be impossible to find.
There aren't terribly many options this part of the city when it comes to entertainment and recreation. There are a few nearby fields if soccer is your thing, if not you're going to have to hop on the Metro to go to the movies, movies, theatre or much else.
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