Oh, I think it matters. As keen young thrusting pilots, we were all happy to go anywhere; but eventually, people feel they want to return home, or live somewhere of their choosing. Some people don't care, but plenty of my peers do.
I'm only mid-career, but I joined with 3 bustling bases in Scotland and I'm old enough to remember Turnhouse! Now, there's one base in Scotland and it's pretty remote and a lot smaller than it used to be (and I spent a fair chunk of my career there in GR4 days).
That means if I liked Scotland and I felt like settling there, I've got pretty much no option. We've gone from 3 MR2 squadrons, 4 GR4 ones and 3 F3 ones to just 2 (and a third) Typhoon ones, and 1.5 GR4 ones, one of which is on a stay of execution. Not many opportunities.
Within a tour, Leeming and Linton will cease to be an option too.
23 year old me would have flown Hawks anywhere, so didn't care that Valley was a 5 hour drive from family/girlfriend/etc. 33 year old me would have grumbled a bit but still done it. 36 year old me might decide he's sick of weekend commuting. 43 year old me isn't going to do it anymore.
I'm not bitter in the slightest; and before anyone comes along with the tired old "if you don't like it, leave" comments, I don't and I have! I still can't understand why no-one looked at the setup and realised that having your entire FJ capability crammed into Lincolnshire, Lossiemouth and Valley means that you may struggle to keep people in once they get to point they want to settle down. I have literally dozens of peers who've openly said they'd happily go to Linton or Leeming, but they'd PVR as soon as they were assigned to Valley. Many have put their money where their mouths are. I know loads of people who adored Leuchars, but hate Lossiemouth. I know plenty who enjoyed Kinloss, and don't like being at Waddington.
The point is there are so few options now, and if you don't like the idea of living in Lincolnshire or London there's simply nothing left for you. If you're a FJ pilot, especially a QFI, good luck avoiding Valley! Everyone of my vintage knows people who volunteered or fought for certain fleets because they were desperate to live near Kinloss/Lossie/Leuchars/St Mawgan/Odiham/etc.
There's nothing wrong with that.