Near by, Close by?

[eggcracker]

Does it sound differently if I use "close by" instead of "nearby" in these sentences?
"Tom is English teacher who lives close by Shibuya (area name)."
"Only few of them live close by the palace."

 

[SoothingDave]

1. Where does Tom live? In Shibuya or near it?

If he lives near the area of "Shibuya," then you would say "Tom is an English teacher who lives near Shibuya." Or "...close to Shibuya."

You wouldn't use "nearby" in that sentence, unless you were trying to say that he lives in Shibuya and Shibuya is nearby to where you presently are. "...teacher who lives in nearby Shibuya."

2. You need to say "...close to the palace" or "...near the palace."

 

[emsr2d2]

And, in case you missed it in Soothing Dave's post, you need to say "Tom is an English teacher ..."

 

[eggcracker]

Then how about these two sentences? Is it okay to change near by into close by here?
"Always have your reference books near by.(original sentence)"→"Always have your reference books close by"
"He rushed to a drugstore near by.(original sentence)"→'He rushed to a drugstore close by."