What is the best way to implement catalog output on our portal?

Question

User interface

In general, there is a portal on which users from Belarus register. When registering, they indicate the city, and this data is used in the filter. The disadvantages of this implementation began to emerge later, when some users expressed a desire to specify several cities at once (they work in different cities). In this regard, the question arose of modernizing this catalog itself. And we have two options to choose from.
1. Display all users in the directory as it is now, and simply upgrade the registration so that you can specify several cities or even entire regions. + upgrade the filter in the catalog.
2. Make it so that if users log in from Mogilev, by default they are shown a directory with users from Mogilev...
Although in fact one does not interfere with the other ... But I would like to hear different opinions.

Answer 1

Precisely Belarus? Maybe Belarus?
2nd option, with the ability to change the user's region manually.

Answer 2

The first option seems weak because of its versatility. But I make this conclusion (and all subsequent ones) with the knowledge that the question about UX is asked without a clear context and description of the audience, its goals, business goals and expected results. Let's get to the guessing!
Given the ability to specify entire regions and displaying all users at once by default, what will be the density of useful information per hundred list items for a user? This is an important (most likely) indicator that will bend a lot (I feel it in the water), compared to the output with a strict reference to the location.
How to get attached? In most cases, limiting users to one point on the map is bad form, so feel free to add the ability to specify several cities to your profile settings. Let's assume (unreasonably) that this is a good solution for you, and now how to display the results?
Most often (depending on the nuances of your project, this tip can be critically destructive. But who knows) the weather application template is used. By default, results are displayed with reference to the place where the user is currently located, plus it is possible to go to the data for the cities specified in the questionnaire. It turns out that you assume that information about the immediate environment is the most valuable (they don’t beat the word “relevant” here?) For the user, but you give the user the opportunity to quickly correct everything if the assumption turned out to be wrong.