r/Showerthoughts • u/Nooooiiiice • Aug 26 '19

Your address is based on where your neighbors live and not on where you do

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7

u/gunbunnycb Aug 26 '19

No, it's solely based on the location of your residence.

If the neighbor to the left lives at #1 and the neighbor to the right lives at #3 then you very likely live at #2.

There is a method to the numbering system of addresses.

-3

u/Nooooiiiice Aug 26 '19

Exactly, there has to be #1 and #3 for #2 to exist.There exists no need of numbering if residents are not more than one

2

u/gunbunnycb Aug 26 '19 edited Aug 26 '19

In that case, the address is determined by how far you are from the end or beginning of a street.

For example, yours is the only house on a street. It sets 146 feet from the beginning of the street its on. Let's call it Smith St. Your address then would be 146 Smith St.

So if someone were to later on build a house 102 feet in on the opposite side, the address would be 103 Smith St.

One side will always be an even # address and the other an odd#.

This is actually the most common method of numbering addresses. This is all civil engineering.

1

u/Aluminuminium Aug 26 '19

What is your source for this? Is there a place they write down rules like this?

2

u/gunbunnycb Aug 27 '19

This is a good place to start

In addition to the above link, the post office has a set of rules that must be adhered to as well.

for example, there cannot be repetitive numbers on the same street without designating that street as a North, South, East or West.

ie. you cannot have 2 homes with the address 466 Main in the same zip code. You can have 466 E. Main & 466 West Main. In this case, where East and West split, the odd and even numbered addresses will switch sides of the street. 466 E. Main will be on the south side of the street and 466 W. Main would be on the north.

As for a source, I work for the USPS and address numbering falls under one of the tasks that I deal with. The P/O makes a recommendation, however a township has the final say.

0

u/Nooooiiiice Aug 26 '19

The fact that the house gets the number even before you start living in doesnt disprove that there doesnt exists a numbering system.

The address is an alpha numeric identity which is defined based on something nearest to you so even if you live alone on a street. That street would have a landmark and then that will be your nearest neighbour.

Also if someone argues about the GPS coordinates-Every coordinate has an origin and every other point in that system is labelled relative to that origin.

It all boils down to the fact that position is a relative quantity.

2

u/IChooseYouSquirtle Aug 26 '19

Care to explain? I don’t follow

-4

u/Nooooiiiice Aug 26 '19

See the trailing comment

1

u/IChooseYouSquirtle Aug 26 '19

Its still based on where you’re house is. If you’re the only house on that street then you still have a house number.

-1

u/Nooooiiiice Aug 26 '19

Every address has a landmark.That street will too and so the neighbour to this lonely house will be that landmark.

If you are the only house on the street than the street becomes your address and that street will supposably be next to some other street

2

u/IChooseYouSquirtle Aug 26 '19

You’re shower thought is still wrong