# What are your traveling preposition? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 7, 2022, 10:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-traveling-preposition/960605 "2022-03-07T10:41:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![DoctorJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctorj/32/2904_2.png) [@DoctorJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DoctorJ)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2022, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-traveling-preposition/960605/21 "2022-03-07T18:37:47Z")
This is a big thing in Eastern Kentucky. One goes “up” or “down” the Kentucky River and its forks, so one in Jackson goes “up” to Hazard or Whitesburg or “down” to Beattyville. This is complicated because the river flows roughly to the northwest. So going “up” is really going southeast. But it’s a bit intuitive because you’re also going “up” into the mountains. Anyone over 50 who has lived here all their life will correct you on this quickly. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2022, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-traveling-preposition/960605/22 "2022-03-08T00:40:02Z")
Growing up in Philly, we would go down the shore, even if it was to Long Beach Island which is east. On the other hand we would go up to the Poconos. Here in Montreal you go down east since it is down the river. ---
**Author:** ![not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/not_what_you_d_expect/32/3246_2.png) [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_what_you_d_expect)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2022, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-traveling-preposition/960605/23 "2022-03-08T01:22:52Z")
I use South if I’m heading to Fresno, but I almost never go North, so I have no reason to use it. I guess I use “over” the most. “I’ll be over there” or “I’ll see you over there”, feels pretty natural to me. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2022, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-traveling-preposition/960605/24 "2022-03-08T02:35:58Z")
Up north, down south, out west, back east, get down, get back up again, out there and back here. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2022, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-traveling-preposition/960605/25 "2022-03-08T02:40:53Z")
North and south are up and down. I’m on the East Coast. East is out, West is in. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2022, 6:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-traveling-preposition/960605/26 "2022-03-08T06:21:29Z")
Up and down are unambiguous when altitude is significant. Climb up a mountain. Dive down in the ocean. Go up to heaven, down to hell. And **Czarcasm** beat me to it: out West, back East. ---
**Author:** ![Tabco](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tabco/32/7644_2.png) [@Tabco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tabco)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2022, 6:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-traveling-preposition/960605/27 "2022-03-08T06:43:14Z")
I also generally use up/down/over for north, south, and east/west. Sometimes it seems to changed based on how one gets to the other location. For example, when I used to live in Medford, OR, it wasn’t uncommon to hear people speak of heading “up” to Grants Pass, even though it was basically due west. However the most direct route there was northbound on I-5. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2022, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-traveling-preposition/960605/28 "2022-03-08T13:44:39Z")
> [@scudsucker](#): > > Cape Town is up from Johannesburg Eh, what? ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2022, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-traveling-preposition/960605/29 "2022-03-08T21:42:22Z")
We go ‘down’ to Denver (elevation). Nothing else is up from where we live. My Wife is from Pittsburgh, and using cardinal directions there is pointless for road directions. There is not a straight road in all of Pittsburgh. I use NSEW for most stuff, as a mapper, it fits for me. But not in Pittsburgh. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-traveling-preposition/960605.md?page=1)