Decades-long Los Angeles resident and “Happy Days” actor Scott Baio said he’s leaving the Golden State, citing soft-on-crime polices and the homeless crisis, adding California is “not a safe place anymore.”
“After 45 years, I’m making my way to finally ‘exit stage right’ from California,” Baio said. “[Homelessness] 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. #ImFree,” he added.
Of America’s 233,800 homeless residents, about half live in California according to a survey published in March. The state’s homeless population has increased by roughly six percent since 2020, per the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
According to Realtor.com, the actor, who played Chachi on the 1970s sitcom purchased his 6,300-square-foot Woodland Hills property for $1.85 million in 2010. With five bedroom, four and a half bathrooms, and a home theatre, the home is now listed for $3.85 million.
Baio claimed he’s “always been a conservative voter” and that his fellow Californians wouldn’t “miss his ‘right wing’ views.”
When a Twitter user said just that, the retired actor quipped back: “Maybe not, but they’ll certainly miss the high taxes I pay!”
Maybe not, but they’ll certainly miss the high taxes I pay!
— Scott Baio (@ScottBaio) May 3, 2023
Not the first celebrity to vacate California, Baio is following in the footsteps of Mark Wahlberg, Joe Rogan, and Matthew McConaughey all who left town, alluding to comparable concerns.
Roughly 500,000 people left California between April 2020 and July 2022, however, it still remains the most populous state in the country with over 40 million residents.
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