How do you tell which direction is which when lookin a) at the neighborhood map b) lot view?

Well, its up to you, really. When I've done street names/street addresses, I wanted odd-numbered addresses on one side of the streets and even-numbered ones on the other, and on longer roads I'd sometimes use direction designations, so I'd have W. Main and E. Main, etc. I just oriented the map according to whether it seemed more vertically- or horizontally-oriented and then north was toward the top of the screen. The other directions followed from there, of course. I just had to remember which way I oriented it when it came time to add lots. Usually I took a screen shot so that I'd remember. Half-senile and all.

You could also use shadows on lots to determine where it is. Make a lot, place a pole, and see in what direction the shadow is. Sun rises in the east, so whichever way it in the middle of north and west. That's how I'd interpret it, at least.

It has to be a new lot, not a previous made one, because lots remember where they were first made and keep that sun-direction.

Unless the setting is a planet that rotates backwards, like Venus does, in which case the sun would rise in the West. Or there's planets that are knocked on their sides, like Uranus. I...can't even imagine what the sun would appear to do on such a planet. But then, I guess I might be the only one who doesn't think of her Sims as living on Earth but without the environment being all "alien."

That's sorta what I was curious 'bout. How to know direction before building so as to use it to the best advantage for initial set up. I know that sc4's are mirrored in sims, so does that mean if you were to look at it in sc4 you'd use the opposite of what it says to determine direction?

EDIT: Ok, well I got all my streets named, but I'm still curious as to how to tell direction both in N'Hood view and in Lot View.

Sun direction is coded in the lot not the neighbourhood. You can move it round in SimPE. Or Moo's Lot Adjuster might do it - can't remember off hand.

Sometimes Maxis give us a clue in the pre-made 'hoods. Sim Center North and Sim Center South in Downtown make orientation easy there. The lot description of Veronaville Market says its where Eastside Sims do their shopping. So, the Eastside must be the "English" side of the canal, where all the half-timbered houses are; the Westside must be the Italian side, and again I know which way is north!

maxon, I wish I knew how to change the sun direction on lots, because it annoys me in neighbourhood view to see shadows pointing in different directions. Since I always play with low resolution graphics, I don't get shadows in lot view. So could someone who plays with higher resolution please tell me if the sun moves in the course of the day.

I have never noticed the sun moving throughout the day.

I didn't know that little tip about the sun direction staying on the lot even after you move it to a different location. That kind of sucks now if you make a lot elsewhere for the flatten purpose then move it. Guess I'll have to just build where I want the lot to be and hope i get better at changing the terrain around the lot better LOL

First, I draw a map of the hood template on graph paper. Once I've drawn the compass and labeled the streets, or at least the odds(-) and evens sides(+), I keep that map in my binder for future reference. Over time I have ended custom hoods and rebuilt new ones using the same neighborhood. Before anything else, I always establish which way is north. It can be as simple as which is northward on my monitor when the hood template loads up, or it can be in connection to which way a river seems to be flowing or examining the mountain range's direction. A lot is just creative input, so just pick what looks best for you. One other thing to consider is how does the main hood connect to the downtown and shopping hoods. Once you figure that out, you automatically know north for those other hoods as they relate to the main hoods'.

Not only that, back in August 2013 Charity posted a beautiful picture of a boat sailing off the edge of the world!

When my hood loads, and the screen moves over the neighborhood, it is the sun rising. So where the hood loads, that is east, and the rest is easy to figure out.