I work as an SDE for Amazon in Madrid since 3 months ago, having relocated from Buenos Aires for the job. If you are cut for the culture, I can't recommend it enough. Everyone is fluent in English, and all work happens in English. I read really bad things about the work environment at Amazon before joining, but I guess that must be in the past or in some other office because I have seen nothing of the sort here; the environment is demanding but reasonably so. They pay is (much) higher than anything else I've heard of in Spain for a developer, and the relocation package was very generous and helpful.
I will echo what others said though: you need to speak Spanish in Madrid in order to survive, more so than in Barcelona. Outside of the more touristy areas English may not be enough in many places.
Doing a Numbeo cost of living conversion suggests at least the base salary is roughly comparable to what you'd be making in the US. The total comp numbers seem low to me, however.
Can you elaborate on number 1? For instance Numbeo summarizes:
Cost of living in Barcelona is 35.00% lower than in ____
You would figure it is really only 25% cheaper? Are you comparing just some itemized costs you incur on a business trip or are you actually moving to these places as a resident and making that observation? I ask because a 10% margin of error hasn't been my experience.
> Doing a Numbeo cost of living conversion suggests at least the base salary is roughly comparable to what you'd be making in the US.
Where in the US? Maybe in the boondocks, but those salaries are shit compared to major city salaries in the US. I made more than that working as an intern before graduating nearly 10 years ago during great recession.
If you are interested, here's a job search: https://www.amazon.jobs/location/madrid-spain?base_query=&lo...
I will echo what others said though: you need to speak Spanish in Madrid in order to survive, more so than in Barcelona. Outside of the more touristy areas English may not be enough in many places.