There is a joke about "too direct persons": "Ты и в туалет наверное по компасу ходишь?"

So, no problem with "направление" in Russian. Problems begin with location terms (heaps of their English counterparts confuse me a lot too): положение, позиция, расположение, местоположение, месторасположение,... - so many awkward words

Though, English 'whereabouts' - is it better?