Refusing to speak spanish is a myth. It's much more likely that you will not ever be able to learn catalan becasue poeple will always switch to spanish the moment they see you are a foreigner. Whether you want to learn spanish or catalan, both or none is up to you. You can live a normal live speaking english only in both places. Have plenty of friends that never got to learn the language beyond some basic pick-up lines and food-related sentences.
The salaries figures, 25K and 20K seem extremely low to me. Truth be told, I've been abroad for the last 6 years, but back then, no way we could hire anyone decent for less than 35K (Barcelona).
I would advise that you are going the earn 20K/25K, do not try to go unless you really want to survive like a student :-) Do not see how are you going to pay the rent with that salary, check prices online.
Both cities are very nice and you will enjoy them both.
Last time I lived there, Barcelona was more start-upy than Madrid, and Madrid more corporate than Barcelona. In any case, they both have plenty of tech, I would not worry about that. You will enjoy your time in either city, if you earn enough of course. Make sure of that first.
The salaries figures, 25K and 20K seem extremely low to me. Truth be told, I've been abroad for the last 6 years, but back then, no way we could hire anyone decent for less than 35K (Barcelona).
I would advise that you are going the earn 20K/25K, do not try to go unless you really want to survive like a student :-) Do not see how are you going to pay the rent with that salary, check prices online.
Both cities are very nice and you will enjoy them both.
Last time I lived there, Barcelona was more start-upy than Madrid, and Madrid more corporate than Barcelona. In any case, they both have plenty of tech, I would not worry about that. You will enjoy your time in either city, if you earn enough of course. Make sure of that first.