Why does nobody talk about how paper maps changed my driving in Portland

I spent 3 years relying on GPS to get around Portland and always felt flustered when I hit construction zones... then I picked up a free city map from a gas station last June. After 2 weeks of following that paper map, I noticed I started remembering street names and shortcuts on my own. The difference came from actually seeing the whole road system instead of just a tiny screen telling me turn here. Has anyone else had their sense of direction get better after ditching their phone for directions?

2 comments

2 Comments

wade_young8613d ago

OH man, you are SO right about this! I had the exact same thing happen when I moved to Portland last year. GPS made me feel like I was always one wrong turn away from chaos, especially with those random one-way streets. After I grabbed a paper map from Powell's, something just clicked in my brain. I started seeing how the bridges connect everything and now I don't even need the map for half my trips. It's like your brain actually LEARNS the layout instead of just following orders from a robot voice.

michaelrodriguez13d ago

Get you a real map. GPS only shows you what's right in front of the car. Paper maps let you see the whole grid at once, so you actually learn the city. Portland's street system makes way more sense when you can look at it all together.