Finding My Way Back Home?

[mongers]

How do you know where you are, where you're going and how that relates to home?

No not philosophical questions, this is after all me posing them, but rather how do you understand place, distance, direction and geographic destinations?

I ask because today I was looking for some travel guides, specialist maps and asked in a couple of shops, the blunt repiles were, no we don't have any, because everyone uses google maps, smartphones and downloaded GPS routes (the context here were bikes)

So this made me feel very old fashion that I was looking for maps! and go me thinking what those other confessed map addicts, the Languishites use for work and leisure?

Personally I just like to 'read' a physical map, I find a large paper OS map has a wealth of things one can learn from it.

What about you?
 

[11B4V]

I still use maps out hunting navigating by terrain association.

[mongers]

I still use maps out hunting navigating by terrain association.

Yes I can see that would work better than googlemaps.

[11B4V]

I still use maps out hunting navigating by terrain association.

Yes I can see that would work better than googlemaps.

However there are some very good topo apps out there.

[Razgovory]

I still use maps out hunting navigating by terrain association.

You learn that from the Army or the Boy Scouts?

[Maladict]

When out hiking I use my phone these days, and voice navigation. Not Google, mind you, Google maps are awful.

I'm plotting my routes on OSM, and when hiking abroad I do take a large scale paper map in case of emergency.
Actually, I tend to take a paper map when on holiday too, it's much easier to get a sense of your surroundings than online maps.

[11B4V]

I still use maps out hunting navigating by terrain association.

You learn that from the Army or the Boy Scouts?

Army. Was never in the Boy Scouts.

[Iormlund]

I very rarely use GPS. Instead what I do if I'm going somewhere new is look it up on a [online] map beforehand. With the general layout of the area and the sun position is very hard to get truly lost. Sometimes you have to do a little backtracking like one time in Poland where the road literally ended by the highway because the ramp wasn't finished yet, but that's it.

[Josquius]

A mile is the distance between my parents place and the main supermarket in the town. I was told this when I was a kid wondering what a mile is and it sticks with me.

Since I got a smartphone my sense of direction is borked. There were times before that when I got massively lost and wished I had a compass, but now I'm hopeless.

[viper37]

I generally use Google Maps like I would use a paper map: look at the place where I want to go, memorize the name of the 4-5 streets in order before my destination, then go.

But, I admit that whenever I go to Quebec city or Montreal, using Google Maps to spot roadworks, traffic jams and other street closure is very practical.  I am beginning to depend on this thing.  In the city, it's not bad, but trying to find an adress in the countryside with this app can lead to... interesting results.

As far as knowing where I am... It's simple.  The St-Lawrence is to the north, the forest is to the south, duh.
Whenever I am in Quebec city (on the opposite side of the river), I have to pay extra attention to the highways' direction because I often keep my old references in mind

[Syt]

Paper maps will be very useful again in the dystopian hellscape after Trump's presidency.

[mongers]

.....
Since I got a smartphone my sense of direction is borked. There were times before that when I got massively lost and wished I had a compass, but now I'm hopeless.

Yes that's a worry of mine, so I don't use one, prefer to keep my sense of direction.

I will back I can across someone who'd never used a map, only had a smartphone and seemed from the conversation to have no real idea of where places where in relation to each other; simple stuff like Brighton is  down from London, Bristol, Cardiff and Wales are to the left, etc

[Admiral Yi]

I'm like Iorm and Veep, except I'll jot down the names of turnoffs on a piece of paper if I the route is any kind of tricky.

[Grey Fox]

I live on an island, I work on a different island.

If I cross 2 bridge, I've gone too far.

[Duque de Bragança]

Even before the current strike, I have been walking quite a lot in Paris, so I have a rough mental map of say West Paris. Arc de Triomphe being my reference point, or sometimes the Eiffel Tower (wait the Eiffel Tower is getting closer, wrong direction!). The Seine river of course, as well, if I go a bit farther. Gare du Nord from Châtelet central public transportation hub? Easy, boulevard de Sébastopol. Commuters had to be reminded of that though by loud speaker announcements.
When I get to a new place, I have to get a bit lost, going in circles literally, at first before mentally mapping out the area it seems. Fun times were had in Moscow in 2018 when I arrived there, specially given the size of the metropolis, and the 20-30 min on foot between stations, unlike Paris where stations are often 500 m one from another.  Plus getting to the precise building which is in the middle of a dozen was challenging in the beginning.

Nothing like walking to get to know a city. Metro, at least the underground ones, do not help.
So usually, I take a look at neighborhood maps near metro or bus stations exits, print out a road map from the web, or have a good old road/neighborhood/Paris and suburbs book on hand. I have apps on my cell phone but don't use them except for public transportation schedules and trips. I fear dumbing down If I start to rely on GPS yet I could see using it for driving though, it just sounds lazy to use it when walking around.

PS : the strike here showed that many people, which I cannot call Parisians or even Franciliens (Paris region = Île-de-France) given their ignorance of Parisian geography, have really a pretty poor grasp of orientation. Even choosing the right bus after waiting for so long was difficult. I guess many were used to the local underground. Best mistake was taking theright bus, but in the wrong direction.  I don't see how they manage to, there are maps on every bus station showing the stops and direction.