north of /north to

[ripley]

Hi, i'd like to know the difference between north of and north to

Town "X" is north of/north to town "Y"

Thanks. Rip

[RVMatt]

[I am not a teacher of English but a long-time user ( 61 yrs.)] In the US, "north of" refers to the positioon of one location relative to another. So, we say that Albany is north of New York City. "North to" refers to a direction in which a person is moving. In this usage, we say "I am going north to Albany from New York City. "