We're kind of at the mercy of the power company here. Meter needs to be within 15 feet of a corner of the house nearest the pole. Most folks don't want to pay extra for an outdoor service disconnect, so many times, the panel ends up installed directly behind the meter.
As for basement installations, I usually run a couple of 3/4" empty conduits from the panel to the attic to make life easy for the next guy (sometimes it's me).
