... Everyone's very chatty & keep telling me how easy it is to find your way about, but I've been utterly lost so far. No sense of direction at all ...
Think of a grid.
In Manhattan the east-west roads are called "streets". They are numbered in order from south to north, beginning with 1st Street.
Roads intersecting these "streets" at right angles are the "avenues". The "avenues" run north-south.
Signs usually include the road they are intersecting with.
That said, there are plenty of exceptions!
Glad you're having fun.
