I live in West Chelsea, a charmingly beautiful neighborhood in Manhattan. I’m spoiled by the Chelsea Market, french cafes, Billy’s bakery, a good mix of old and modern architecture, waterfront, UCB, and countless art galleries. It’s wonderful, but tonight my neighborhood became even greater because I actually got to know my neighbors.

And, I’ve got the Internet to thank because Kristen, Mike and I put it all together based on Tweets, Foursquare mayorship showdowns and Tumblr posts that we in fact are next-door neighbors. Tonight, they invited me over and we talked for hours over wine, a trip to Billy’s and my first taste of Japanese whiskey.

This is the view from their roof, a perfect view of Manhattan that’s just not visible from my garden apartment next door, which looks onto well, a garden.

I like my neighborhood even more now.