(I assume you are using the newer Polar Align where the scope does not need to be pointing at the pole)

I usually start near the meridian and typically Declination 60° or so (but the declination is totally unimportant). I start near the meridian because the most important thing is that the polar align RA rotation must not *cross* the meridian (it seems to ignore all safety stops and will happily just keep going and crash the scope into the tripod). So if I happen to start on the east side, the rotation must be to the east and vice versa.

Sometimes there are clouds in one part of the sky, so I polar align on the other side. Some people might also have a tree or a building in the way on one side, so they need to be able to specify the other side.

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