quick question

Americans (on T.V) always seem to know the points of the compass. What if it was a cloudy day? Here in the U.K it is always cloudy, and we can't say we are 'heading south on East Street, Westside, in Northfields'....is it the layout of the cities, or just T.V jargon?

hi my name is XPLodER
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reply to post by WhiteAlaska


I know for myself that I know directions very well. It might be from orienteering in Scouts, working on ships and needing to navigate, knowledge of astronomy, and time spent flying.

All this adds up to give me clues as to my location and direction of travel. It's never one single thing that gives me a bearing, it's cumulative.

OP, I can not speak for all cities in the US; however, here in Dallas, Texas most, if not all, of our major streets are laid out on a grid, with streets going N/S & E/W. I have been driving these streets for so long that I can tell what direction I am driving without putting any thought into it; however, my wife (who is not originally from Dallas) still gets confused sometimes.

Also, for me, I have been a lifetime outdoors man (camping, hunting, hiking, etc.), so I have developed an internal compass of sorts. I may not have the exact coordinates down, but I can generally tell what direction I am going while walking on foot through the woods both day and night.

reply to post by Aggie Man


American streets sounds like milton keynes in uk, that has a very ridged street layout. All our other cities are all over the place, but not milton keynes.

Where I'm from, we know which direction + or - 30 degrees. There's a road that, at one point, probably goes north-north-west/south-south-east, but everyone calls it a north/south road.

Basically, if you think you are facing north, and you think you make a 90 degree turn left, then you think you are now facing west.