Why do you use 'I'm going to America' but not in 'I'm going home'

[Joseph415]

An ESL friend asked why the word to isn't used in "I'm going home." but why it is used in "I'm going to America." I'm not sure myself. Can someone explain it for both of us?

[Lost_Soul]

I think it's kind of idiomatic.
You can say "I'm going to church this Sunday", "I go to school/work every working day".
But for some unexplained reasons you say "I'm going home"

[Molly]

Here, "home" is an adverb:

go home

Similar examples.

go on
go away
go back
go upstairs

Here, "America" is a noun.

go to America

Here, "home" is a noun:

go to the retirement home

[Daemon99]

Thanks a lot Molly!

I hadn't known all this stuff. It was quite an education for me.
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Non-native speaker of English
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I intend to live forever - so far, so good.