How much does location actually matter?

Hi,

I was wondering how much does it actually matter on where you work (location)?
-> I am talking about recruiting down the line.

Let me explain: Obviously London in Europe and New York in the US are probably the prime spots, but what if you work in Frankfurt, Los Angeles, Chicago or Paris?

I am asking since I got an offer for an internship from a leading EB (Evercore/ Centerview/ Moelis) however the office in that location is rather small and the team is therefore either working on smaller deals or cross-office.

Therefore I am afraid to accept this offer since I believe that due to the size of the team the experience will be seen as not valuable. I also got another offer from a lower ranked EB (Rothschild, Guggenheim. Greenhill) - however the team is larger and therefore working on bigger deals.

To conclude: do you as an recruiter judge an work experience based on the firmname and also location or do you primarily look towards the name and ignore the location?

Thank you