Ditching Hollywood for the Sunshine State: See which celebrities love living in Florida

Florida has its fair share of celebrities who have called it home over the years. From the Panhandle to Palm Beach County, several famous artists, athletes, and stars have flocked to the state.

But how many have publically declared their love for the Sunshine State?

Here are eight celebrities who have shared their appreciation for Florida, whether their longtime locals of the region or just now seeking out the sun from the southernmost state.

Who lives here? Most famous celebrities with homes in Sarasota and Bradenton area

What about Wellington, FL? Did you know these 33 celebrities lived in the Wellington area?

Guy Fieri

Who knew Flavortown was in South Florida? The Food Network fave purchased the home on secluded Bella Vista Avenue in March 2021 for a recorded $3.9 million in Lake Worth Beach in 2021. The year prior, he was in Palm Beach County visiting three restaurants for his “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives” series and stopping by the Lake Worth Beach pier where he posed for a picture with former city commission candidate Richard Guercio.

Fieri has a history of loving the Sunshine State after years of opening up restaurants throughout the state.

“Even a cloudy day in Florida is an awesome day,” he said while opening up 'Chicken Guy' in Winter Park. “I will be in Florida way more than you know.”

Guy Fieri in Florida: Where to find 35+ restaurants seen on 'Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives'

Duane 'Dog the Bounty Hunter' Chapman

After their wedding in September 2021, the longtime reality TV star, and his wife, Francie Chapman, have settled in Marco Island and are now on the hunt for a new adventure together — helping abused women in Southwest Florida. While starting up their Houses of Bounty foundation in Naples, the couple have gushed about their love for their new community.

Meet Dog and Francie: Meet these new residents of Marco Island – Francie and Duane ‘Dog the Bounty Hunter’ Chapman

"The people are just wonderful here and we're starting to build community and get plugged in … everybody has just been so incredible. It has amazed and floored me how embracive people are over what we're doing," Francie Chapman told the Naples Daily News.

Scott Baio

The star of “Happy Days” and “Charles in Charge” has purchased a home in Manatee County recently, tweeting that after 45 years, he was making his ‘exit stage right’ from California. He cited his reason for leaving was California's homelessness issue, bringing statistics from a 2022 report by the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority.

Later the 62-year-old retired actor shared a photo of himself and wife, Renee, at the beach on Twitter with the caption "Living our best life in Florida" and it received 180,000 views.

"Florida is pretty much what America was like 50 years ago," Baio told Fox News. "It's just people hanging out. Everything's wide open, it's free, the people that I meet are all just nice."

Baio buys home in Bradenton, says: 'Living our best life in Florida'

'Wah wah wah': Scott Baio left California for Florida and 'Happy Days,' 'Charles in Charge' actor went viral

Howard Stern

Stern has a 3.23-acre estate oceanfront Palm Beach estate valued at $52 million. The radio shock jock and former judge on “America’s Got Talent” has publically declared his love for the state several times, including its favorable tax picture and its desirable weather compared to up north.

“New York is the center of the world,” he once told listeners of The Howard Stern Show. “Why wouldn’t everyone just move to Florida and build a New York there? I don’t get it.”

Gloria Estefan

For years, Estefan and her family have lived in Miami Beach, specifically on Star Island. The Cuban-born, Miami-raised singer has strived to advocate for the Miami community with hurricane relief concerts, AIDS research benefits, and work to strengthen boating safety.

"We're lucky to call Miami and the United States home. What other city can claim to have its own foreign policy? Miami is many things, but it is never boring," the singer said while headlining a concert to open Carnival Center for the Performing Arts.

Tom Brady

Making the sudden switch from snow to sunshine, the seven-time Super Bowl champion has secured a $17 million waterfront mansion in the Tampa area and says he is enjoying the state's weather. In a 2020 press conference, Brady compared the cold spells in Tampa to ones in Boston, saying he's been "loving wearing a hoodie for a couple of days, but it's amazing just to be at this point in the season and still be outside practicing."

"I was a native Californian for a long time in my life, went away from it for about 25 years, and you won't catch me dead living in the Northeast anymore. I'm loving the warm weather, and it's been a great feeling," Brady said.

Jerry Springer

The late iconic American television personality and politician lived in Sarasota for about two decades after purchasing a home on Bird Key in 2002. The Sarasota Herald-Tribune reported that Springer could be seen at the many restaurants he favored on nearby St. Armands Circle and Main Street; or attending a show at the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall, where in 2013 he hosted “The Price is Right Live!”

“We love the area but we are pretty private; this is very rare I do anything public in Sarasota,” Springer told a Sarasota Herald-Tribune reporter by phone in 2013. "Sarasota is the one place I want to have a private life and try to keep pretty much to ourselves. This is family time to me, a place where I can be a regular person and not be involved with show business. If this wasn’t ‘The Price is Right,’ I wouldn’t be doing it.”

RIP: Jerry Springer, Sarasota resident and famed daytime talk show host, dies at 79

Jimmy Buffett

It might be cheating to end the list with the man most synonymous with "Florida," but you can't talk about Sunshine State celebrities without mentioning Jimmy Buffett. A part-time Palm Beacher since the 1970s, Buffett has been a staple of the community, owning a home in the Eden Properties neighborhood and dining at several local restaurants.

“No one bothers me. It’s amazing. I’m not on television and that’s the big difference," Buffett told the Palm Beach Post on why he loves the Palm Beach community. "I can walk around with shocking anonymity. People don’t know who I am. I went to Disney World walking around the other day and was stopped twice.”

This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Scott Baio to Tom Brady: See celebrities who share love for Florida