In general, I prefer local talent.  In part because they aim to build a clientele through high quality service.  Also, I try to support the ladies who have chosen to call Metro DC home.  I want to take care of them, so they'll want to take care of me.  

However, if there is a particularly high quality, visiting gal I may step up and take the plunge b/c of her limited availability.

I like this hobby for the sheer diversity of it. I guess my neanderthal urge to spread my seed far and wide leads me to try different providers nearly every time. There are exceptions of course! I don't hobby very often maybe once every two months, so I try to make it a high quality excursion. I see Visiting girls from Belle De Jour or Miami Companions when they are in town. There are a few others like Victoria, my ATF
What I like best is that they are usually high quality in terms of looks and service, (as rated by all of you out there - thanks) Visitors tend to be booked quickly so if I make the effort to plan ahead, I can make it a special event for myself and the girl. I'll bring a gift, candy flowers, find a nice card, not just an envelope. I also like to make a CD/mixtape for our session and leave it with her. (music geek too I suppose - I need help) More often that not I find that she is already booked. A few girls come to town and have all but 3 or 4 openeings booked before they get here. So if you hear a girl you like is coming, book early and book often  : )

Local girls I try when I'm out on business calls and have an extra hour to kill in the afternoon. So I look for girls that are in the neighborhood. This means that I don't have the same amount of time to plan ahead.
I think my expectations are generally lower because they have a clientele that is established. Because I rarely return to the same girl, I'm not a regular. So I miss out on the special treatment reserved (and rightly so) for regulars. I've been pleasantly surprised by a few. Samantha is a fav at beseducedbyme.com
I do tend to use the same agencies and AMPs over again so the schedulers and hostesses get to know me and treat me well, but the girls are always different.

I keep a list in my Palm Pilot of girls that I'd like to try around town and in other cities that I travel to .
(How nerdy is that - Sheesh)

Overall I see more local girls because of their availability, but tolerate a lower performance because I take more chances last minute. Letting the little head make the decisions doesn't work all the time. The visiting girls I have to work at getting time with so I try harder. You get out of it what you put into it.
Diversity is the spice of life

One vote here for the carpetbagger's. Out of the provider's I've seen, roughly 40% local, and 60% traveller's, the best experience's for me have been with traveller's. On the other hand some not so good one's have been with traveller's also. YMMV. It would be great to find a local provider to get regular with but I never have been lucky enough to find one to do so with. A few of my favorite local's are so busy or undependable after a few visit's, or attempt's, I haven't returned.

...mostly because the locals just don't seem to participate much on these boards (other than ads). When a lady posts a lot, I feel I know her a bit, and that makes all the difference in a session.

For the DC area I stick to the locals. If I am out in some small town, I will get a provider to travel to me. A few years ago I would make a trips to another area just to hobby. I found the pricing in the DC area to be excessive. With the new supply of providers coming in the market prices are coming down. It is fun to compare the performance of a provider(1) who charges X for 2 hours and another provider(2) who charges X for 3 hours. Then you have the provider(3) who charges Y for 3 hours compared to the provider(2) who charges X for 3. You say would if I stick to the provider(2) who charges X for 3 I can get an additional hour every month. There is another caveat when traveling where the provider(3) who charges Y for 3 is cheaper than the provider(4) who charges X for 3 in another city. With the high quality provider(3) who charges Y for 3, you don't have the addtional travel expenses and travel time.  Fun to see the market dynamics. It is really fun to see the provider(1) who charges X for 2, take a break for a while hoping the prices will go back up only to find out that they remain constant. I have seen this phenomenon happen in other cities. The provider on the other city would tell me I had to take a break for a while.

We are very lucky to have the huge supply of providers in the DC/Baltimore metro area. I plan 18 months out by have a shopping list of providers (a different provider for each month). If one is not available pick the next provider on my private list. The list comes from providers that I have researched. If I find a good provider I will stick with her, otherwise next on the list.

I have yet to see a visiting provider. Many times they don't return calls or answer the phone. Some are downright rude. They fail to do there research to find out the market pricing of the dc area. Many get upset when they find out how competitive things are.

I have actually warned a few providers (that I know personally) not to come to the area because many clients only want 1 hour or the book and cancel at the last minute. One provider did not believe and she found out the hard way.

In the future I can there will be some economic courses on the provider market, lol. It is a classic study of supply and demand.

For the purpose of this exercise:
provider(1) $500
provider(2) $500
provider(3) $700
provider(4) $500

Bottom line reviews are very important.

Hey Dick,,,,you know me....I like the locals,,,however if a good provider seems to cum around,,,why not,,right...