Christian Actor Kirk Cameron Ditches Home State of California for Tennessee

Christian actor, writer, and producer Kirk Cameron announced last week that he and his family have moved from California to Tennessee.

Cameron, who starred in the sitcom Growing Pains, was born and raised in California.

The actor told The Washington Examiner that he began thinking for years of moving out of the Golden State to a state that had a “healthy freedom mindset” as he felt that California was creating “so much division.”

Cameron further told the outlet that he noticed the Volunteer State attracts “a lot of California refugees” who “want to be around like-minded people for safety and for security.”

“It’s shocking how many Californians are here. And when I see them in the grocery store, I tell them, ‘Don’t California our Tennessee,’” Cameron told The Washington Examiner. “If everything hits the fan and there’s some serious economic problems and division going on, they want to be around people like they think who are all about God, family, and country. It’s a really nice place to be.”

Tennessee’s “good wholesome values” and “good whiskey” were also praised by Cameron.

Prior to his personal move to the Volunteer State, Cameron has often traveled to Tennessee over the years to promote his effort encouraging local libraries to host story time events for children and families in addition to headlining faith-based events.

Cameron’s move from California is part of a statewide trend of people fleeing the state, according to U-Haul’s annual Growth Index which is compiled from more than 2.5 million one-way U-Haul truck, trailer and U-Box moving container rentals.

California has led the nation in seeing the largest net loss of one-way movers for four years in a row while states including Texas, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee led the nation in welcoming one-way movers.

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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Kaitlin on X / Twitter.