Why in different places seems directions are changed?
Even though sun always moves from east to west, latitude affects the north-south perception.
If you are in the north hemisphere, beyond the tropic of cancer, the sun will be most of the time in the south hemisphere (except close to dawn and dusk, where it might cross to the other hemisphere during summer). While if you're in the south hemisphere, beyond the tropic of capricorn, the sun will be at north.
Usually I use the sun to check where is the north in a map, but I must remember the north-south rule, otherwise I might choose the wrong direction to follow... that's why a bougth a cheap compass.

Since you're talking about two places that are in the tropical belt, most part of the year the sun will rise in the north-east, move later to the south and it will end in the north-west. But during the winter the sun probably will be always in the south hemisphere.

Probably the difference they are seeing between two close towns is due to different times of the year or due to a mountain that covers the exact sunset in the horizon in one place.