Scott Baio and his wife are living in a condo while their new home is being built in Florida after abandoning California to be overrun by homelessness and out-of-control crime.
Baio spent 45 years on the west coast of Los Angeles before finally “stepping out of the scene.”
He announced the move earlier this month, citing statistics that estimated around 70,000 homeless people lived in Los Angeles County, including around 41,000 in the city alone.
Baio uprooted for Bradenton, Florida and is currently living in a condo with his wife Renee while they wait for their new home to be built.
Renee revealed the couple chose Bradenton for many reasons, including its proximity to Anna Maria Island and Siesta Key.
Scott Baio and his wife are living in a condo while their new Florida home is being built
“I love the vibe and values of a small town in Manatee County and I support family businesses and would love to see them thrive,” she told the Herald Tribune.
The Happy Days star said he was ‘kicked out’ from Southern California after decades, saying the state had become ‘unlivable’, citing homeless people doing drugs on the sidewalk amid the day, crime being ‘out of control’,’ and ‘graffiti all over everything.’
The sitcom star, 62, said he has now moved to the west coast of Florida with his wife Renee Sloan and their daughter Bailey because they no longer feel safe in California.
Baio is the latest celebrity to escape California due to disastrous increases in homelessness and crime, with the star putting his $3.85million home in Woodland Hills, LA, on the market last month.
The conservative leaning star said FoxNews he has watched Southern California become a “third world country” over the past 45 years.
“Between homeless people defecating on the sidewalk, doing drugs on the sidewalk in the middle of the day, illegal aliens everywhere, the law means nothing, crime is out of control, graffiti all over…everything… my tax money, I don’t know what they’re doing,” Baio said last night.
He added: ‘I’m scared to go to the mall, my wife and child are scared to go to the mall. It has become an unbearable situation.
“I’ve been in California for a long, long time, and it’s so sad for me. I have family and I have friends there, and I didn’t want to leave, but I was practically kicked out.
Scott Baio and his wife are living in a condo while their new Florida home is being built
Baoi confirmed he had moved to the west coast of Florida after posting a photo of himself on a beach on Instagram with the caption, “Living our best life in Florida.”
The actor lives in a gated community called Westchester County Estates in California, according to real estate agent.com.
A 6,300 square foot property containing five bedrooms and 4.5 bathrooms, it also contains a large ceiling, stone floors, a curved staircase, a great room, a dining room and a home office.
The exterior includes a swimming pool, spa, many plantings and a non-buildable area behind.
LA’s wealthiest residents flee the city as Governor Gavin Newsom raises taxes on the wealthy and the city crumbles under soaring crime rates – with actor Jim Carrey the latest A-lister to put on his house for sale.
According to Los Angeles Timethe state of California lost more than 500,000 people between 2020 and 2022. This is the fourth largest decline in the country at this time, behind New York, Illinois and Louisiana.
Not only are California lawmakers pushing legislation that would impose a new tax on the state’s wealthiest residents, but there’s also a growing crime and homelessness problem that has led these celebrities to flee.
Baio cited state statistics on homelessness, noting that “it drives down the value of property”
Actor Mark Wahlberg has sold his longtime Los Angeles home for just over $55 million, more than $30 million less than the original asking price, as he moves to Nevada in the goal of eventually building “Hollywood 2.0” in Sin City.
With these celebrities all packing up and heading for greener pastures, even more could flee with progressive Democratic MP Alex Lee who recently introduced a bill that would impose an additional 1.5% annual tax on residents – past and present – with a global net worth over $1 billion, as of January 2024.
From 2026, the tax threshold would decrease. Those with a global net worth of more than $50 million would have to pay a 1% annual wealth tax, while billionaires would still be taxed at 1.5%.
Global wealth includes various assets such as agricultural assets, works of art and other collectibles, as well as stocks and hedge fund interests.
California already taxes the wealthy more than most states, with the top 1% accounting for about half of the state’s income tax revenue.
According to Forbes’ 2022 World’s Billionaires list, there are 186 billionaires living in California, up from 189 the previous year, but far more than any other state.
In 2020, California had the highest number of millionaire households in the United States, with 1.14 million households owning a million or more in investable assets.
While some are fleeing Los Angeles for the tax hike, others fear homelessness, poverty and crime are also on the rise.
Baoi is the latest celebrity to escape California due to disastrous increases in homelessness and crime, with the star putting his $3.85million home in Woodland Hills, LA, on the market last month.
According SafeWisethe Golden State “recorded 4.4 violent crime incidents per 1,000 population, surpassing the national rate of 4.0.”
Homelessness, and particularly homelessness with the added facet of severe addiction, presently presents a significant problem for many major metropolitan areas in the United States.
Especially in Los Angeles and San Francisco, where drug-using homeless populations have nearly overtaken entire city neighborhoods, making it difficult for people to run businesses and parents to feel comfortable with their children. walk to school.
Late last year, members of the Los Angeles City Council voted to prevent homeless people from pitching their tents within 500 feet of city schools.
LA, like the rest of California, is struggling to come to terms with its homelessness problem.
Between 2010 and 2020, the state saw a 31% increase in homelessness while the rest of the country saw an 18% drop.
An estimated 40,000 people are homeless in the city, which has a population of nearly 4 million.
