Remember that the words that represent directions -- north, south, east, west -- in any form are capitalized when they represent a recognized geographical area. This presumes that you might have to have some information about a region to know whether it is "recognized."
Here in Los Angeles, for example, people would recognize "West L.A." and "East L.A.," but we don't have a "north L.A." I would not say, "I live in north L.A." as it would not mean anything to anyone.
...vacationing in the Northwest...
...going to South America...
When the word represents a direction, it is not capped.
...driving south for several hours...
...moving north of the city...
This rule does not work when you have a word that might represent a direction but that does not contain one of these four directions.
Happy punctuating!
Margie