Mark Wahlberg says he left LA when he realized his kids needed a different environment to grow up in

Mark Wahlberg, 55, said he put his kids first and left Los Angeles, even though he still misses it.

On Monday’s episode of “The Shop” podcast, Wahlberg said he doesn’t think living in Hollywood is necessary for success in the entertainment industry.

“I think in this day and age, you can self-tape, and you can audition from anywhere. You can be anywhere,” Wahlberg said.

Additionally, movies are increasingly being filmed abroad, in places like Australia and the UK, or “wherever the tax credits are more competitive,” he said.

Still, Wahlberg, who moved to Las Vegas in 2022, said he misses Los Angeles, especially the weather, the variety of restaurants, and his friends.

“But my kids were getting exposed to a lot and getting in a lot of trouble. The best thing was to say, ‘OK, let’s put them first. I don’t have to be here. I can always come back,'” he said.

Wahlberg added that returning to Los Angeles regularly is “the goal.” “Summertime in California, man, there’s nothing better,” he said.

Wahlberg, who shares four kids with his wife, Rhea Durham, said in 2022 that moving to Las Vegas would allow his kids to better pursue their hobbies, including golf, horseback riding, and basketball.

In 2025, Wahlberg also bought a sprawling seven-bedroom mansion on Billionaires Row in Delray Beach, Florida, for $37 million.

Wahlberg isn’t the only Hollywood celebrity who has spoken about leaving Los Angeles.

Since 2018, Jessica Biel and Justin Timberlake have spent most of their time in Tennessee and Montana, away from Los Angeles, in an effort to give their children more privacy from the paparazzi.

In May 2025, Lindsay Lohan said she has fewer worries as a mother in Dubai, where she’s been living since 2014, than in New York and Los Angeles.

“It’s hard in LA. Even taking my son to the park in LA, I get stressed. I’m like, ‘Are there cameras?'” Lohan said.

In October, George Clooney said his kids have a “much better life” living on a farm in France than in Los Angeles.

“I don’t want them to be walking around worried about paparazzi. I don’t want them being compared to somebody else’s famous kids,” Clooney said.

It’s not just celebrities leaving the Golden State. California had the country’s largest net loss of residents to other states between July 1, 2024, and July 1, 2025, with an estimated 229,077 more people moving out than moving in, according to Census estimates.