How about doing an unskilled job for the first six months to a year while you get a good grounding in Spanish either by studying on your own or doing a part-time language course? Working would be a great way to get know the real Spain and you would be using your Spanish in an everyday context from the word go. Personally, if I had the chance to live in Spain, I would be prepared to do any sort of job to live there... well, almost any sort;)

Just wanted to add that I have always found the Spanish to be very helpful and accommodating to foreigners learning their language. It doesn't matter if you don't always get it right, as long as your communicating.

hi Ian,

If you don't speak Spanish, there will be very few options for you as far as work is concerned. As others have mentioned, teaching English may be the only way to get started.

You could also try applying to British companies in Spain.

You could also try working "autonomo" (basically, freelance), and teaching English. I knew several people who were doing this and made more money than teaching at language schools.

Some companies (such as banks) will hire English teachers as "autonomo" and they will pay you more than you could earn at an academy. The only catch is that you have to set aside money to pay for your taxes.

Being a British citizen, you do have several options, but not too many if you don't speak Spanish.

Any more questions, please ask

"Experts agree", spanish is so easy for an english speaker to learn, that you will certainly be seen as "less than bright" at best (if not flat-out ignorant, arrogant, and anti-social) if you can't at least begin pick it up after a couple of months.
You will prabably learn castillian (and the dialect local to wherever you choose to settle) very quickly if, as you suggest, you avoid the narrow and deathly boring world of the "coastie ghettos" (the racial/cultural stress of foreigners desperatly trying to recreate their home cultures in Spain is sad and repulsive), and instead go for something interesting in the "real world". Good luck!

By the way, contrary to the case in "other cultures", the spaniard will always warm up to the foreigner who demonstrates an interest in learning spanish - and your blunders or accent will almost always be seen as endearing before they ever offend. You can't lose!
(Besides the working-class job, be sure to consider the barstool after the workday is done to be a classroom as well.)
Of course, as happens anywhere, a person percieved as unwilling to learn to the local lingua is written-off (sometimes politely, sometimes not).