I think of a straight road, going from here towards a big city (in my case here is delft, and the big city is Rotterdam) I imagine the map of Holland and think of the orientation of the two places relative to each other. Now I know which way the straight road from Delft to Rotterdam is pointing (1/4 from West to North (WWWN). I determine the direction of the road relative to me and point North.

I know where the sun rises and sets - so I know where north is. I live on the east coast of Australia and so the beach/sea is always on the eastern side (my right side as I face north)

Southern hemisphere. Day time. Using your watch with hands, point twelve o'clock at the sun, halfway between the hour hand and twelve o'clock is north. Use normal time, not day light savings time. Night time. Find the Southern Cross. Four and a half times the length of the cross from the bottom star is the South Celestial Pole.

I've heard that moss grows mostly on the North side of trees. That's why I was stunned when driving down the street a few weeks ago, I glanced over and noticed thick communities of moss growing on the south side of all the trees there. Well, now that method seems unreliable or maybe I remembered it wrong, but I never really used it in the first place, so no bother. Usually I just ask or look at a map if I am disoriented. However I usually don't realize I'm disoriented until the Sun rises in the North. That's usually a big clue that I'm looking in the wrong direction.

The half mile of road in front of my house is the only road within 10 miles that lies up to the North Pole (not magnetic)

As a kid I once heard that Native Americans know their cardinal directions, making them more in tune with nature. Romantically wanting to emulate them, I became very aware of direction. I have developed numerous strategies. Where ever I go I note the cardinal directions ASAP. I feel disoriented until I have figured it out. The usual way I do this in a grid-system town is to learn the streets' orientations. When I move to a new home, I try to note ASAP if the building is squared to the cardinal directions; if not, I try to come up with a mental picture of the angle it is off from that. On a campus or at a mall, I figure out which buildings/halls are square with the cardinal directions and use them as reference. I'm pretty good at holding my arms or pointing my big toes at estimated angles. I get frustrated when emerging from subways in strange towns. When it is overcast, you can squint to find the sun. I now live in a sink surrounded by mountains (I grew up in a flat part of the Midwest US). I have studied topo maps and noted which peaks to use dead-reckoning with in combo with the street grid. I became good at mental triangulation due to an early enthusiasm for a book about the Brit’s mapping of India. Also, I learned to think about angles when I used to play pool a lot. Hope this helps.

i'm facing north, with my nose as another writer said. to the west is ''the snotty westside'' and to the south, it's under the bridge...north is the dyed in the wool townies, and east is the 'otherside' of where i live. *think st. louis, east st. louis, kinda like that. only not st. louis. my 'east' has strip clubs, bars, bars and strip clubs. nice, when you're younger anyway. the bars on this side of the river close at 2am. 'east' they close at 3:30. drunks on a bridge, racing to get that last dance, hook-up and/or drink(s) for the night. what a life...

Vancouver, Canada is due north of me. If it were not for the trees and hills on this and the other islands between, I could see it's lights out my window just now. (I'm pointing with my nose.)

north is currently behind my back as I know I am facing south sitting at my computer.
Every day I am aware where north is as I "navigate"
myself according to the sun.

I think of where the lake is. It's east of me, so north is to the left.

No one talks about orienting by the night sky: the north star. Remember the song "Follow the Drinking Gourd"? It was about the direction north for excaping slaves. Good for Jane, differentiating between true north and magnetic north. I wobble, but north is over there....

Well, I live in Utah where the street systems are all on a grid, so you learn North pretty fast. Also, the mountains here run almost North in a Basin and Range system, so you look for the mountains and know that they run North and South.

Also, as a Boy Scout, we always learned that while in the wilderness you should look for the side that moss grows on the trees. Moss tends to grow on the North side of trees. Not too exact, but it kind of works.

Face your back towards the south pole.

1) Face the rising sun.
2) Raise your left arm.
3) Extend your index finger.

Spend enough time working in the sun in open fields and you don't even have to think about it.

1. Well, we spend a lot of time saddled up and out in the brush here in Southern Cal, so an idea of where NSEW are is just about ingrained. Maneuver around a bit to see which way your shadow is longest, imagine an arc that would cast it, North is where the shadow points. Waiting around a bit at mid day helps in Summer when the sun's path is almost perpindicular. Waiting around in the shade at mid day is never a bad idea when you're mounted in sun country anyway. Buckeroos never carried a canteen. When you're thirsty, so is your horse. Water it first. You're more likely to get home.

In Los Angeles, CA. I look to the San Fernando Valley floor and the mountains on the farthest side from me.

Street orientation in towns along with mapping that can provide any true north adjustments to the street orientation and ultimate ones house with everything else eminating out from there may be the best sequence for direction.

Streets of San Francisco closely aligned to compass, so streets define four points of compass.

my Bedroom

North here in northern england is where the tallest mountain is and the sharpest edge is facing.

my '02 blazer has a compass which verifies my internal one. my drive way and front/back doors are east-west, verified by sunrise/sunset in northern hemisphere.

I live on the east coast, a couple of hours from the ocean. I think about what direction the road leads when I drive to the beach, and mark that east.

Since I live deep in the Northern hemishere, and communication (TV) satelites are clusterred over the Equator, I look for the satelite dishes mounted everywhere. Most of them are pointed due South. Then I turn around and point. North.

At 12.00 the sun should be approximately south, so north is the opposite (or where the shadow lands).

When near the sea, you most probably know which direction the coast is on maps, so that should help remembering north.

First, build your house aligned north / south / east / west. Then, when somebody asks where north is, look out the side of your house that has no windows. Simple!

I used a compass several months ago when I was applying Feng Shui principles to my house, so I just know.

Remember where the sun sets and face that direction. Assume you are facing 12:00 noon on a clock. In summer North will be at about 2:00, in winter it will be closer to 3:00.

I use two methods, I am work with GIS maps for a living and I am a bit of a map freak and a star gazer to boot. Depending on the season, I find Polaris using either the constellation Ursa major, Cygnus, of Cassiopia, and then keep a mental note of where that direction lies. I also study maps of places I am preparing to go to, so I can orient myself fairly quick. When I first get to a place I haven visit before, the first evening with a clear sky, I look for Polaris. the most trouble I have had with this method was when I visited Guatemala. My latitude was 15 deg N, and I didn't look low enough in the sky for my constelations.

Maps. If I spend any significant time in an area, say more than just a few hours, then there is a good chance that I've given a good look at a map of the area. If it's a place where I spend more than a day or so I've probably given several maps a close examination. I find that doing so does wonders for getting a deeper sense of the space you're in. I've even had occasions where visiting folks away that I've had a better sense of the geography of the space they've lived in for years.

I live in Denver, CO USA.
Face the mountains and North is to your right.
Trivial.

I just turned and pointed. But...

Every city I've lived in across the Canadian prairies and west coast has had an unnatural north-south/east-west grid, making north easy to find. Oddly enough, the downtown core of Vancouver (current location) is set at 45? from this typical grid, reasoning originally being that all four sides of the building can receive some amount of direct sunlight.

My apartment, however, never gets any direct sunlight. North points straight out the window.

When a grid can't be found, the North Star or a compass sound like decent ideas (discrepancies between true north and magnetic north notwithstanding).

I live in a grided area of a city with clearly defined directions.

My neighborhood is north of a neighborhood north/south divide betwneen safe and not so safe.

I live in London. I always think about where I am in relation to Liverpool Street Station - where East London starts - and then figure out where north is from that point. I do that by thinking of bus routes, and where the Thames is.

local.live.com probably best with both map and satellite imagery. Google and Yahoo Beta do not display an explicit North indicator, although I believe it is assumed to be "up".

Then it's relatively easy to figure out North with a quick survey of your surroundings.

The geeky way is to use your cell phone :)

if you are in a new place ask someone. It's more important what you do with knowing where north is. I find north in every new place I go. I have a compass tatoo.

My house is built in the traditional "way" with the left corner in front pointing south, therefore the right corner at the back is pointing north.
(Sweden)

The avenues in Manhattan run roughly north and south.

At sunrise, stand facing the sun, and point to the sun with your right hand. Point with your left hand at a 90^ angle. That's north.

In the northern hemisphere, on a clear night, look for Ursa Major - the plough. It's the constellation that looks like a saucepan delineated by seven stars. Imagine the seven stars to be stretched out into a string. Find the two stars in the string that are most distant from the stars forming the handle. Draw a line between these two stars and extend it "upwards". The first bright star you come to is the pole star. Point at it. Task complete.

I like the analog watch method, it is quick and easy in the field. Passive solar design has my front door facing south.

In the northern hemisphere in the winter, on a sunny day take a stake, plant it vertically in the ground, wait until the midday, and the shadow of the stick will point north.

Or use a compass, although magnetic north isn't exactly the same as true north. Besides, it's migrating. Magnetic, that is. Soon we'll be pointing at Siberia. The Aurora Borealis will be moving west, too.

To find north. If you're in the northern hemisphere, north can be roughly ascertained by the depth of lichen growth found on trees, rocks etc.