Jonah Hill Reveals Why He Left Hollywood for ‘Very Small Town’

Jonah Hill traded in Hollywood for San Diego, and he doesn’t regret it. The funnyman recently opened up about his migration with his wife and two kids, and why it ultimately was the best decision for his family. 

Hill left Tinsel Town three years ago. And he hasn’t looked back since.

“So real quick, before we go any further, my wife is here,” Hill said during a live taping of the SmartLess podcast presented by SiriusXM in L.A. April 25, per People. “My best friend. Shout-out to my beautiful wife, Liv. Where is she? Oh, what’s up, baby? So I live in a very small town in San Diego,” the You People star continued, adding, “and it’s amazing, and my neighbors are incredible people.”

He said their decision was sparked by becoming parents. “When we had our first kid, we moved out there three years ago,” he explained. “I wanted to leave L.A. and raise a family outside of Los Angeles.”

It’s been a beautiful adjustment and a good balance, and the best thing besides the area and his family, he says, are his neighbors, who he says treat him like a regular member of their community versus being starstruck. “They never treat me weird or ask me about my job or anything,” he said. “And my neighbor is one of my great friends, Dr. Sean, he never asked. He’s here tonight. He never bothered me or was like, ‘Oh, what’s this person like?’”

Despite this, he still appreciates his hometown of Los Angeles. “I grew up here,” he reflected. “L.A. was such a cool place to grow up in the ’90s because you could go skateboard downtown or you could sneak into a movie premiere or you could go sneak into a comedy club and see Chris Rock or something. You had access to show business stuff,” added, noting, “but you had access to punk and skating and graffiti and all the naughty stuff. And there was no internet. It was just so awesome.”