[General] Answer to What's your address?

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GAUCHO

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When teaching personal information,I have been told that We the latin americans should answer with the address in the way it is in our countries,that is to say for example: first :Avenida Independencia and then the number that belongs to the house,in this case 580.Because there would be problems for the post office,and they would not be able to find the address.
Some other people told me that it should be with the number first and then the street name.
I would like to know which one is the corrrect answer to what's your address?
yours, Enrique.
 

Ouisch

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The answer depends upon which country you are sending the mail from.

For example, the United States Post Office has the following basic rules when it comes to foreign addresses:

We recommend that you print your delivery addresses in all uppercase letters. If possible, addresses should have no more than five lines.

The full address should be typed or legibly written in English—using Roman letters and Arabic numerals—and should be placed lengthwise on one side of the item. An address in a foreign language is permitted if the names of the city, province, and country are also indicated in English. Global Express Guaranteed destination addresses must be written completely in English.

The last line of the address block area must include only the complete country name (no abbreviations) written in uppercase letters.

Foreign postal codes, if used, should be placed on the line above the destination country. The following shows the order of information for the destination address:

LINE 1: NAME OF ADDRESSEE
LINE 2: STREET ADDRESS OR POST OFFICE BOX NUMBER
LINE 3: CITY OR TOWN NAME, OTHER PRINCIPAL SUBDIVISION (such as PROVINCE, STATE, or COUNTY) AND POSTAL CODE (IF KNOWN) (Note: in some countries, the postal code may precede the city or town name)
LINE 4: COUNTRY NAME (UPPERCASE LETTERS IN ENGLISH)
The following are examples of properly formatted delivery addresses:
MS JOYCE BROWNING
2045 ROYAL ROAD
LONDON WIP 6HQ
ENGLAND

MS JOYCE BROWNING
2045 ROYAL ROAD
06570 ST PAUL
FRANCE

The following format should always be used for destination addresses to Canada:
MS HELEN SAUNDERS
1010 CLEAR STREET
OTTAWA ON K1A 0B1
CANADA


As you can see, for the most efficient delivery from the US to a non-US address, it's best to use the AmE standard of address, which means the house number is listed first followed by the name of the street.
 

Tdol

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In the UK, I was taught to put the number after the street when sending letters to countries that follow that custom.


LINE 2: STREET ADDRESS OR POST OFFICE BOX NUMBER

As you can see, for the most efficient delivery from the US to a non-US address, it's best to use the AmE standard of address, which means the house number is listed first followed by the name of the street.

The examples use number + street name, but the rules don't appear specify it, so would it be OK to follow the South America custom as it will be a South American postal worker who handles that line? I ask because I have read that US postal rules are very strict.
 
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