I’m fine with finding my own way, but taking directions from people in my hometown is impossible. They’ll use things like the main grocery store, but call it by a name it hasn’t had since going out of business 25 years ago, with two other companies giving it a go between now and then.
Just head down Randall’s lane and take the turn at Carl’s. You’ll see it right past the old park.
*Randall hasn’t lived there in thirty years and the civic name of the road is Oak Line. “Carl’s” was bought out by a major chain back in 1998 and hasn’t been called that in two decades, also you can turn in two directions at the intersection just past it (obviously you don’t want to turn left at Carl’s, there’s nothing down that way). Oh, and the “old park” was actually closed down in the 80s and there’s a warehouse in that lot now.
No, I’m generally pretty good with direction. There’s only been a few times I’ve had my internal sense of direction out of sync with reality and it’s a rather odd feeling every time. It surprises me just how many people are ok with never learning directions or where places are in relation to each other.
I just follow the moon… bizarrely I’ve always got wherever I’m meant to be going…
Oh yes, just head right to the back of that hall.
Which I did.
But it was like 10m in and I went full to the back.
How the hell did you miss it? …
i wonder why that is
I’m in the right place. It’s everything else that’s in the wrong place
I’m decent with maps. Most people describing a way, though? Fucking awful, if I even understand what they’re saying in the first place (I’m pretty bad with accents).
I love gps devices! I love mapquest! I love waze! Anything to help me not be lost!!
Good thing my partner has an uncanny sense of direction. She says, “Which way should we go?”. And after I answer she smiles sweetly and goes the opposite direction.
I am a man. I have no belief in a natural compass. If I have one it is completely reversed. I have to use maps and rely on land marks. And Lord help me if I use something as a landmark that can be moved!
My sense of direction is bad enough that most people I know say to just do the opposite of what I’m thinking and I’ll probably end up where I’m going.
Whenever that has happened, post-mortem analysis has indicated the failure to be more closely related to the interpretation of the instructions given than my innate sense of direction.
Well, the first thing you wanna do is, you go straight until you reach the third red house. That’s one made from brick, mind - not the painted wooden one. If you see that one, you’ve gone too far and should hang a left - but if you do, mind the dog; that beast is rabid, I swear. Anyway, if you got that right - don’t actually go right - take another left. Not the same left as the one I mentioned before, obviously. That’s another one. So where were I? Ah yes. After a while you’ll notice the appearance of curb-side trees - I think there’s a term for that, but that’s not relevant - when you see those, you were supposed to take the immediate right turn before them, I think…
I got so angry reading those directions I almost downvoted 😮
I used to live in a region where the city layout is almost square. A lot of the big roads are almost facing towards N/W/S/E direction, reading them in maps were easier. I had to navigate on my own relying map app because there’s only expensive taxis to go around.
Now I live 512 km away, the city layout is more abstract. it’s also more crowded, but at least the public transportation are more accessible in lesser places. making travel around the whole region much cheaper. In this case I rely a lot on public transport map instead of normal map app like comaps. and somtimes reading public transport maps isn’t very straightforward.
