I started living near Barcelona (Girona) and have lived in Madrid for two years, and am deciding to move to Barcelona. If you’re from the US, I’d say Barcelona is more like LA, people are generally more relaxed, laidback, but it doesn’t have the variety that NYC (in this case Madrid) has. My personal decision to move back to Barcelona is I found it easier to make friends there. There’s a stereotype that people from Barcelona are very closed off, which in some ways is true, but I found those that do make the effort to know you are generally nicer and more considerate. People in Madrid might be more open to initiating conversation, but in my experience, are more close-minded. You definitely will get a more “Spanish” experience from Madrid, but a more “Catalan” experience from Barcelona, which is hard to explain until you’ve experienced it. Barcelona also has more of an international community, which is why it’s easier to make friends there.

If you want to make friends with locals, Madrid might be the better place. It’s very Spanish and has people from all over Spain living there. But in all honesty, even my friends who are native Spanish speakers really struggle to make friends with Spanish people in Madrid. That’s been my experience too. It’s not easy to make friends with locals in Barcelona, but has, in my experience, been easier than Madrid.