Mark Wahlberg spoke with “The Talk” to discuss his family’s move from California to Las Vegas. Wahlberg and his family, which consists of his wife, Rhea Durham, and children Ella (18), Michael (16), Brendan (13), and Grace (12), had lived in California for over ten years. When discussing his reason for leaving California, Wahlberg pointed to his family. “I want to be able to work from home,” he said. “I moved to California many years ago to pursue acting and I’ve only made a couple of movies in the entire time that I was there. So, to be able to give my kids a better life and follow and pursue their dreams, whether it be my daughter as an equestrian, my son as a basketball player, my younger son as a golfer, this made a lot more sense for us.”

The Wahlbergs leave behind their 30,500 square foot Beverly Hills estate with 12 bedrooms and 20 bathrooms. The family originally purchased the estate for $8.25 million in 2009. Wahlberg and his family will now reside in the high-priced Summerlin community, where he has purchased 2.5 acres for $15.6 million. Wahlberg’s plans for Nevada include making Vegas into “Hollywood 2.0” by building a studio, as well as building a shoe factory, and a factory for his sport utility clothing line, Municipal. He hopes to move forward with his plans after Nevada’s elections. “That is the biggest challenge,” he told “The Talk.” “Every free moment that I have, I’m at home. I moved to Nevada, where after this gubernatorial election, hopefully, it will go to legislation and get a bill passed so we can get tax credit for the state and build a state-of-the-art studio here and make this Hollywood 2.0.”

Wahlberg is not alone in his decision to leave California. There has been a growing exodus from California, which, despite its idyllic weather, is currently suffering from severe population loss, with the state losing a Congressional seat for the first time ever after the 2020 Census. Quality of life seems to be a big factor in the decision to leave the Sunshine State, with rising taxes, a housing crisis, and increasing homelessness being cited as top problems causing the exodus. In 2020, the average cost of rent was $2800, which far exceeds the national average of $1600. The COVID pandemic has also made remote work more possible, leading more people to work from home like Wahlberg. Also, like Wahlberg, many people leaving the state are leaving for states with lower taxes or no income tax, like Nevada, Texas, or Florida. Wahlberg was optimistic about the change, saying, “So, we came here to just kind of give ourselves a new look, a fresh start for the kids, and there’s a lot of opportunity here. I’m really excited about the future.”