Moving to Barcelona - help!

Was it the Gaudi, he also got me - I'm such a sucker for architecture that looks like the lovechild of a Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale and a hallucinogenic journey to the darkside. In all seriousness though, Barcelona is a magnificent city and it's easy to see why you fell in love. That said, without a knowledge of even basic Spanish you'll have difficulty finding a job in Barcelona.

As you duly noted, the Spanish economy isn't at its strongest, and Barcelona doesn't offer nearly as many working opportunities as the more commercial city of Madrid. That said, as a UK citizen you won't have issues dealing with visa or work permit logistics, so it would be worthwhile to approach multinationals in the area and tourism companies that cater to English speaking travellers.

Alternatively, you can always attempt to find an au pair job or start out by offering your services as an English speaking tutor.

Lastly, even if you move to the city with little knowledge of the langauge, you'll certainly pick it up much faster than in the closed classroom environment. You'll have to speak to survive, and you'll find that even if end up asking for a "Who is the metro" (rather than "Where is the metro"), locals will appreciate your attempt and try to help you out.

Good luck!