writers_loft | Question: Using real locale (Reply)

I was reading up a novel and realized the author lives in my home town. And that's because I recognized the streets and some of the buildings he described. It was done well, but I realized I walked the streets that the main characters were walking.

Now, when this happens, do you find the fiction you were reading somehow less real or more real?

Because sometimes, when I read, I am immersed in the fictional world and rather not be reminded of the reality. Some other times, I realize such things build realism, because they are in fact based on the real world geography.

By the way, I don't mean by really famous places like Eiffel tower or Swiss Alps, or Machu Pichu. (personally only been to two from the list), but more of some random streets or a neat side street that only 'local' people would know.