Let's just be honest here, I am not good with direction.
When I first moved to Toronto in the summer of 2010, I would get lost all the time. The only route I knew for the first 2 weeks was how to get from my apartment to my office and back - it was a 20 min walk each way. I once got lost 2 blocks from my apartment... yeah, told you, not so good with directions. So my local friends gave me a tip: look for the CN tower to find your way.
In downtown Toronto, the unique shape of the CN tower make it unmissable in the sea of condos and office buildings. It's at the south end of downtown and near the water. I eventually became so accustomed to orientating myself using the CN tower that I even found a new apartment right at the base of it.
This way, I'll never get lost again... hopefully.
My apartment view, 
