"I think England has served me very well. I like living in London for the reasons I gave. I have absolutely no intentions of cutting those ties. There is absolutely no reason to do so. Certainly not, so that I can have a swimming pool and a palm tree"
About this Quote
The kicker - “a swimming pool and a palm tree” - is doing all the work. It’s not really about landscaping. It’s a shorthand for a whole fantasy of arrival: celebrity as climate, status as resort living, the good life rendered as props. Firth punctures that with a deliberately banal image, suggesting that the supposed upgrade is, at best, a set dressing change. Subtext: if your definition of freedom is a pool, you’re not free, you’re marketed to.
Context matters: Firth is a British actor who successfully crossed into Hollywood without fully defecting to it, and he’s always traded on a particular brand of Englishness - restrained, self-deprecating, allergic to flash. This quote protects that identity while also flattering London as an adult choice: culture, privacy, a workable public life. It’s a statement about belonging, but also about resisting the celebrity conveyor belt that treats relocation as proof you’ve “made it.”
Quote Details
| Topic | Contentment |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Firth, Colin. (2026, January 15). I think England has served me very well. I like living in London for the reasons I gave. I have absolutely no intentions of cutting those ties. There is absolutely no reason to do so. Certainly not, so that I can have a swimming pool and a palm tree. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-think-england-has-served-me-very-well-i-like-140705/
Chicago Style
Firth, Colin. "I think England has served me very well. I like living in London for the reasons I gave. I have absolutely no intentions of cutting those ties. There is absolutely no reason to do so. Certainly not, so that I can have a swimming pool and a palm tree." FixQuotes. January 15, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-think-england-has-served-me-very-well-i-like-140705/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"I think England has served me very well. I like living in London for the reasons I gave. I have absolutely no intentions of cutting those ties. There is absolutely no reason to do so. Certainly not, so that I can have a swimming pool and a palm tree." FixQuotes, 15 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-think-england-has-served-me-very-well-i-like-140705/. Accessed 7 Feb. 2026.

