Ackislander

I like both, but other things are just as important.

Evidence of similar tastes: nothing could make me take a Duck Tour in Boston, yet other local posters recommend them highly. There is nothing in Las Vegas or Disney World that attracts me.

Evidence of similar financial resources: I am not qualified to answer about the George V because I am not going to stay at the George V.

Evidence of similar kinds of interests: some want to see all the "sites"; we very, very rarely do more than one "thing" a day. The rest of the time we walk around, hang out, explore. My must dos may be very different from yours, local or tourist.

The question I never respond to begins "Is so-and-so worth it?" How would I know? Is marriage worth it? Going to church? Having children? Working and saving?

What I love is finding out about things that are very different from home -- a recent thread on how you order and pay in an Italian cafeteria, for example.

Then anyone with the information, provided it is accurate, is blessed for sharing it.

semiramis

I hope as a non-American I am allowed to answer.

Basically I agree with willit.
it depends on the nature of the advice one is seeking.

Some people choose to ignore good advice (like those who think they can see all of Europe in a week).

Some people ignore local clothing fashions - big deal. As long as one is not dressed offensively (skimpy clothing in houses of worship) - why on earth does anyone care? The way one dresses to live and work in a city is generally NOT the way one would dress to pursue leisure activities.

Some people want traveller oriented info (i.e. hotel reviews). Some people want to know things that locals would know the most about (i.e. local transit).

As for recommended sights and activities. I think both locals and tourists have some blind spots there. Many tourists are really only aware of the "big names" and neglect slightly more obscure but fascinating sights. Locals tend to recommend things that they personally enjoy (which are not always what a tourist would be particularly interested in). I think that a traveller does best by understanding his/her own personal tastes and interests and gearing their sight-seeing that way. (E.G. if you really are not interested in art galleries - why go to them? If medieval churches fascinate you, seek them out. Do a lot of research to find out about what is in the area you are visiting.)

Basically what I am saying is good useful info comes from locals AND from fellow travellers. NEITHER is a substitute for doing some of your own research.

jcoz23

I like any and all info I can get. Advice from a local is great because they obviously know more about the destination in question, but they don't know me. The person who lives next door to me knows more about me so probably gives me tips that are better suited to me... So both have their ups and downs. I say, get all the information you can from all sources and sift through it yourself to see what best suits your personality.

Lexma90

I'll also chime in with a "straddle-the-fence" answer. And, as a person who lives in/near a place where others commonly come to travel, my opinion are from the viewpoint of the traveler and of the local.

I've found that sometimes locals' (including my own) advice doesn't work for travelers or vacationers. Location and distance between places can matter a lot when you're on vacation, but not when you live somewhere. I'm more likely to travel a further distance for a good meal at home than I am on vacation. On vacation, often our restaurant choices depend on how close the restaurant is to our hotel. And, for example, if I recommend hikes that we enjoy doing in the Rocky Mountains, visitors may feel they're too difficult to get to, or take too long, or the activity just wouldn't fit in with the rest of their schedule. On the other hand, many of the vacation activities in our area aren't the kind of thing that ANY of us would spend money on on a regular basis - horseback trail rides; white-water rafting; a day pass doing things like alpine slides and bungee jumping. So I can't give very good advice on that kind of stuff.

In terms of advice I give to others, restaurants are probably the most helpful info I can provide. Though again, living in a resort area, we don't go out very much. We have cheap favorites for takeout, and one or two splurges for special occasions. For anything in the middle, we cook at home!

A Slovak friend gave us advice on places to visit in Slovakia, including some great activities that we wouldn't have known about otherwise (including white-water rafting on the border of Poland). But, when he last lived there, he was a 20-something single guy; we're parents of a teen on a two-week vacation. His destinations would have had us making 7 one-night stays, all over the country. So even though they were great, they didn't work for us.

As mentioned before, any suggestion, from anyone, can be great if they fit in with your interests and likes. This is particularly true of the person can give reasons why suggestion is good, so you know if it fits in with your interests/likes.