FODOR'S REGULARS/ADDICTS
 

Do you regularly check your home territory boards, i.e. US, Europe, and/or if US, specific states,etc. to help travelers? If so, do you ever find yourself withholding info so as not to detract from the tourist experience? Resident vs. tourist biases? I will post this to Europe also.....just curious.

What sort of info do you imagine we would withhold?

I visit the US boards regularly and never search by state, since I have advice to offer not only on my home state but also on a couple other places I visit regularly.

I visit the Euro board once or twice a week and just search for threads on the one country I've been to -- and would like to revisit.

I check the Canada board regularly but I get the impression that people think there is nothing between Toronto and Jasper/Banff. Nobody wants to know anything about where I come from. But I still check.

No.
-Bill

Anonymous:
For instance, I lived in NYC-Manhattan for 25 yrs but when I see people committed to staying near Times Sq, I rarely suggest they try say, B&Bs in Chelsea or The Village or hotels in SoHo or the Upper West Side which I would have preferred, as it is now difficult for me to view NYC as perhaps a 1st time visitor from another country.

Well, since you put it that way, I probably withhold 90 percent of what I'd like to say about some people's vacation choices!

Funny you should ask this question. After years of getting and giving help with trips I just decided to see what people are asking about the city I live. I realized I can be more helpful than just places I have vacationed. The truth is I don't think I was as effective as I hoped because I don't take cabs and haven't stayed at too many hotels, but I'll keep trying. And no, I wouldn't withhold info. I just hope I can give back what so many other have given to me. I have had so many great experiences thanks to other fodorites. Tourism are a great compliment to your city.

I used to live on Oahu and I visited Kauai, Maui and the Big Island while there, so I try to help when I can if I see Hawaii questions. I hold my tongue about Kauai and Maui sometimes since I didn't enjoy those islands, but I think that's exactly because I was living in Hawaii and wasn't a true tourist.

I will comment on places I have vacationed. When it comes to advice about SF or the Bay Area, I do not comment on those posts that want to know about Alcatraz,Fishermens Wharf and other frequently visited places.
I don't have much to offer in that realm. If folks want to know where the "locals" places are or things locals would do for a day or two, then I will pipe in.

I'm not sure if withholding info is the right idea -- more like withholding judgment (or trying to!). If someone asks if they *should* stay in Times Square and seem open to other options/experiences, I might suggest a different locale. If they seem set on staying in Times Square or it seems most logical given their itinerary, I would offer them whatever help I can about the area, but do not tell them that I would rather be boiled in oil than stay in Times Square myself.

I'm with diddl_maus. I love giving advise about Minnesota but hardly anybody asks. Its almost like we don't exist. It must be nice living in a city or state which so many people ask about. Any questions about Minnesota anyone? I will be happy to help and I will give it to you straight.

I check this site often and mostly like to read the posts. I only post for places I have visited or where I live in Maryland or North Florida where I lived the first 22 yrs of my life. I don't withhold in for any reason. What could I possibly withhold?

ok Jorr, I'll try to make your day. We will be staying over in Hudson on our way to Glacier NP and the Canadian Rockies in July. Do you know the area and if so, tell me a good place to eat that night. Sorry, but we're bypassing MN on the return trip.

Don't feel bad, Jor....no one asks about Buffalo either!!!

jorr - I feel the same way - any time anyone asks anything about Cincinnati it makes my day because it is so infrequent. There were a couple of threads this week from someone coming to town for our "flying pig marathon" and I was thrilled to be able to offer adivce!

I remember that snowrooster, When Pigs Fly is when I will run in that Marathon:D
I am moving to Portland so I can be annoying and answer lots of questions about my new hometown ((6))

I check the boards regularly but definitely not as much as some people do. I don't withhold information. I try and give answers to places I have first hand experience with. I have a lot of knowledge from my husband's travels, but I keep to what I know. My DH would be a great resource, but he spends too much time traveling to participate :)

Scarlett-As opposed to annoying people who don't live there and pretend they know everything??!!

OOps. couldn't resist! ;-)

lucy

Besides the city where I have lived most of my life, Chicago- I will also answer questions or give my experience of places I've been a tourist myself.
And I usually put a time frame on the pkg as sometimes numerous trips may not be very recent.

Withholding info! About Chicago especially I don't give much info beyond hotel rooms and museums. That's because they think the entire thing is the skinny strip on the lake which is designated Loop or Mag.Mile. I get flamed if I relate much about the vastest area that is really Chicago.

And I won't even start to discuss the amount of restraint I exercise when every second tourist asks anyother Wrigley Field question. Kind of like what NYC people may feel about the Times Square inquiries, or it may be worse. Could you imagine if a pedestrian was shot by a driver with road rage outside of the Cell! Or if women had 2 rapists at large- daily over a period of several months by OUR ball park. But that is the "friendly confines" where everyone desires to go. Watch out for the falling concrete, and I decline to answer.

As a New Yorker i enjoy giving advice about NYC and its restaurants along with advice about the eastend.Also I like to comment on places i have been to.Thanks to all the other addicts who have given me some great advice

I like to read the posts about places I would like to visit or ones that I have gone to. I will comment if I went to the place in question.I don't withhold information. I might withhold my tongue though!!! The US board for the most part is easy going. The Caribbean board is very opinionated and they can get very touchy about their opinions!!

95% of what I look at on this board relates to home (NY) or places I have already visited. I think I prefer to give advice than request it. My vacation planning usually takes place on the plane, on the way to my destination! Unlike the majority of people on this board, I hate planning, and almost all my trips are last-minute.

I also look at the NY threads to see restaurant recommendations and fun things to do near home.

I love to provide an insider's perspective to Chicago. I check the Illinois board almost every day. I can't really talk about hotels, since I live here and have no need for them. I also don't live downtown and frequent the restaurants there, so restaurant advice is also limited. I do make a point of saying the Gino's East is an overrated tourist trap with lousy pizza. My number one pick is Giordano's.

I would consider myself an expert on transportation and what to see and do outside of the well worn tourist path's. I have been to the museums and such often enough to offer advice on those too, though perhaps my perspective is a bit different than that of the tourist, especially the first timers.

I also like to check the boards for other places I've been. Milwaukee and elsewhere in Wisconsin seems to have come up a lot lately, I'm a frequent visitor to Wisconsin, and I really love Milwaukee, which has a distinctly different personality than Chicago. So, I'm almost as eager to provide advice for Wisconsin as I am for Chicago.

I am not an addict here because too many here are in love with themselves.
My hometown has a great bakery in York, Maine called "When pigs fly,"
It is now sold in Massachusetts and other New England states.

I'm not smart enough to withhold information...

I'm not smart enough to withhold information either.

I traveled for a living for six years and am gettting reading to get back into the business so I have extensive knowledge about quite a few US destinations.

ronkala, thanks for asking! First I will assume that you will be traveling on I-94 through Wisconsin, Minnesota, and North Dakota. Its the easiest route. If you are leaving Hudson in the morning you will probably be in Mid North Dakota by that evening or night so I can't recommend a place to eat. Otherwise I could recommend somewhere to stop.

However, I can tell you some other things. If you are interested in driving through both downtown Mpls. and Downtown St. Paul stay on 94. The skylines are impressive. If you want to avoid it take the longer loop route of 694 to the north. Either way you will be back on 94 on the other side of the "Twin Cities". On your way toward ND you will pass within two miles of my home. Please honk! I would invite you for lunch but I will probably be working.

After you pass Fergus Falls the landscape gets really flat and treeless. Its the Red River Valley. You will probably not see anything that flat the rest of your life. It will last for the next 150 miles. It was the bottom of Lake Aggasis ten thousand years ago. Somewhere in that area you will be looking for "supper" as we call it.

Watch out for crazy Norweigians. We are everywhere in Minnesota!

Have fun.

Yes, I try to use my knowledge as a Chicagoan to help travelers.

With so many travelers taking shortened vacations anymore (just long weekends or less at lot of the time), I think that most don't have the time to really explore any more than a small area of Chicago--nor even fully even discover THAT portion.

And, with all due respect to other posters, I also think that a lot of travelers are interested in going to Wrigley Field because of the history of the ballpark and atmosphere of attending a game there. Quite frankly, U.S. Cellular Field doesn't have the same "personality" of Wrigley nor even that of the old Comiskey Park. (Nor are the neighborhoods surrounding the Cell similiar to those around Wrigley.) I've many attended games at all three and Wrigley is my favorite by far.

Hi nnrobnz

I check the US board often and offer advice if I have 1st hand knowledge about the question. I consider myself fairly knowledgeable about outdoor recreation, beaches and redwood groves in Humboldt and Del Norte counties. There are a few of these places that receive very little pressure from the locals as well as the tourist. I dont volunteer information about these places. (they are usually way out of the way) However if someone asked a specific question I would give my best answer.

Have fun
GP