It is considered best practice to begin with Location Groups due to how information cascades between location sections.
Location vs. Content
Within the Locations node of the Umbraco tree, please take note in the upper right hand corner of the page where "Location," "Content," and "Info" are located.
Specific locations are created in the "Location" section.
Location "Types" and "Groups" are created under the "Content" section.
Content creators may bounce back and forth between all three while creating locations. Doing so should give them a better understanding of how these three Umbraco sections work together.