I have to go to Leonardtown this morning to have blood drawn. So I’ll say “I have to go down there in an hour.” If I need to go to Waldorf for something, it would be “I’m going up there this afternoon.” You might have already guessed that the first is south of my and the second is north. That’s how my mind works. Similarly, I’d go over to a neighbor’s house, since they’re close enough that cardinal directions don’t matter.
Anyone else base prepositions on the map?
Well, I do go up north and down south, but I also go out east and out west.
Just as often, though, I’d rather stay right here.
mmm
I use those terms but i rarely use them correctly. So if I’m heading up north to visit my mother i might tell her: “yeah I’ll be down there this weekend”.
It’s all very arbitrary.
I use up, down or over but rarely north/south/east/west unless it’s up north or down south. My partner uses “up/down the road” quite a lot, often when referring to visiting his family, which is indeed up the road, but about 300 miles up the road!
were north of LA and orange county so its "were going down below "
I use altitude, which seems to be common amongst my acquaintances. Cape Town is up from Johannesburg, Durban is down from Johannesburg. Harare is up from Johannesburg (albeit not by a lot)
If the altitude is similar, then “up” and “down” correspond with north/south, eg, I go up to Namibia, from Cape Town.
Here in southern Maryland, there’s not a lot of altitude difference - from sea level to a few hundred feed above. But the Appalachian mountains are in the western end of the state, so I’d likely say I was going up to Cumberland… except it’s also north of me, so that’s a nebulous “up.”
And of course, originally being from Baltimore, we would always go “down the ocean” or “downy ayshin” if you want to talk Bawlmerese. 
What are your writing verb?
The typos always come back to bite one, do they not?
Yep, ‘up’ is north and ‘down’ is south. For east and west, ‘over’ is good for close travel (‘over’ probably works for close in any direction too, as FCM says). ‘Out’ is for long distance travel east or west.
When people die, they go west. Confusingly, it is also possible for things to go south.
Up to Dublin, down to a smaller town or rural area. Up to Oxford or Cambridge, up to university. Down the country. Down home. Up (in Dublin) for the match.
Points south, west or north-west of Dublin are down (bigger-to-smaller rule): down to Mayo. Points north are up (north is up rule): Up the north, up to Belfast.
Within Dublin, direction towards the sea or river is down; away is up. Walking up Dawson Street (means walking south). Top of O’Connell Street (means north end of the street).
I feel like I only ever say Up or Down for Cleveland or Akron or Columbus (north and south). If I’m going east or west, it’s “out”.
I just tell people I am going here and there and going to do this or that whenever I get to it. Keep them guessing I say.
In a similar vein, I go Down South and Up (Oop) North, but I always go Up to London, no matter my starting point, as The Capital is always Up.
I go up to places north of me, down to places south of me, and over to places west or east.
Since we live on an oblate spheroid, around to anywhere is always technically correct.
To. I travel to. But if I was you, I wouldn’t start from here.
I don’t equate “up” with “north” and “down” with “south” except in set phrases like “up north” and “down south.” I use the terms somewhat arbitrarily. I think I have a slight preference of “up” for south, as I live on the south side of town and the numbers go up as you head south, so I might say something like “take the bus up to 63rd street” (from 47th) and that will be heading south, but I am not unlikely to say “take the bus down to 63rd street”, either. Neither sounds wrong to me. My wife, who spent a few years in New York City, has more fixed ideas of what “up” and “down” mean, as Manhattan is laid out such that north(ish) is “uptown” and “south(ish)” is downtown, and has pointed out to me that I sometimes use “up” when traveling south. But for me the terms aren’t strongly directional. I’ll use either for destinations east or west. I can’t find a rhyme or reason why I use one or another, and I’m sure I interchange them. “Over” is similarly arbitrary, but usually refers to nearby destinations, but not always. Like I could say “I’m going over to the school to pick up the kids” or “I’m going down to the school to pick up the kids” (the school is northeast of me. I’m probably least likely to say “I’m going up to the school to pick up the kids.” Not sure why.
I “go by” places. As in “Let’s go by da pig and pick up some brats, en so?” “Ope, I forgot to go by da Kwik Trip for donuts to bring to work today”. “Didja go by da new stop 'n go light yet?”
Since I live in the city center, I almost always say I’m going “out” to someplace when I’m in the car. Usually “out to the suburbs to see family”. Up and Down will often make an appearance depending on direction but Out is the clear winner since it’s the catch all.