Vertical addresses

In the UK, addresses are more vertical than in the USA.

(This was from a fax that came through to the office I worked at in England from 1995-1998.)

In Nairobi, Kenya, Africa, where Heather and I lived for five years, there are no street addresses. And that’s a city of 3-4 million people. There are street names but not building numbers. You have to ask good directions to find a place.

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4 Replies to “Vertical addresses”

  1. Interesting–in a world where GPS knows my precise location on the planet and turn-by-turn navigation preculdes the need for maps, maybe there’s still value in KNOWING the peoples and places that matter by something beyond numbers.

  2. In Costa Rica, despite it being one of the most prosperous Latin American countries, addresses are usually given in reference to landmarks rather than numbers. Blocks are described as “100 meters”. So our house was “Siboney neighborhood, San Pablo, Heredia: from the Siboney Store, 100 south, 200 west, house with green roof next to the playground.”

    The capital is called San José, but there are various other San Josés as well, so the others are always linked to the province name or a nearby city. Alajuela is another major city, but there’s also Alajuelita (a smaller town near San José), and then there’s San Josecito de Alajuelita.

  3. There is a place where the streets have no name.
    A friend who lives there has an address of:
    2144 W 5750 S
    Roy, UT

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