Scott Baio skyrocketed to fame during his appearances on “Happy Days.” Now, the celebrity has announced that he plans to abandon his home in California because there are too many homeless people and crime is running “rampant” in the Gold Rush state. Baio, like Mark Wahlberg before him, is only the latest celebrity to abandon their homes in California for the greener pastures of other states that have fewer problems and fewer homeless people to make them uncomfortable with their wealth and status.
Now, Baio of Happy Days has put up his Woodland Hills home in Los Angeles on the real estate market earlier this month. He purchased the luxurious home in 2010 for $1.85 million, and he now hopes to sell it for nearly double that buying price at $3.85 million.
The sitcom star, who is a die-hard conservative, turned to Twitter to share his thoughts about Los Angeles and how it is becoming a cesspool that celebrities and stars like him no longer love or feel comfortable in. He claimed that with Democratic Governor Gavin Newsome at the helm of the Golden State, Baio no longer feels safe in California and wants to move somewhere where there are more conservatives like him so he can fit in with his neighbors.
“After 45 years, I’m making my way to finally ‘exit stage right’ from California,” he tweeted. He cited the city’s homelessness crisis saying that “it brings down property value. Also, no consequences for crime that is rampant, making things higher in price, and it’s just not a safe place anymore.”
Baio’s property that is up for sale is part of a gated community called Westchester County Estates. The home has 6,300 square feet of living space and includes five bedrooms and four and a half bathrooms. The home also included a dining room, a home office, a luxurious curved staircase, and tall ceilings that make it appear larger when inside. On the outside of the home, Baio once enjoyed the pool, spa, and a no-build zone right behind the property.
Recently, Mark Wahlberg sold his Los Angeles home for $55 million, which was about thirty million below the asking price. He wanted to get out of Los Angeles as quickly as possible because he was seeking business opportunities in nearby Las Vegas, where he hoped to create a studio to rival those in Hollywood.
In addition to the homelessness crisis, natural disasters like wildfires and earthquakes, and rising crime, celebrities and elite people are fleeing California now that it has been announced that taxes on the richest residents will be going up under the Democratic governor Newsome.
The new tax law would not go into effect until 2026, when people who have a net worth in excess of $50 million will have to pay one percent in taxes every year. Meanwhile, billionaires under the law would have to pay 1.5 percent in taxes so the money could go to the people in need across the state.