As the philosopher Ferris Beuller once said, “Life moves pretty fast.” You never really know where life is going to take you. Sometimes it even takes you to exactly the place you specifically plan for it not to take you. This was the case for Chris Hemsworth and Elsa Pataky, who decided to leave Hollywood and head for Australia almost a decade ago, despite making a specific agreement when they got together not to do that.
Australian actor Chris Hemsworth and Spanish model Elsa Pataky have been married since 2010. When they got married, it seems the pair made an agreement that wherever they ended up living, they would not end up in either of their native countries, because they were so far from each other, and thus so far from their families. Pataky told Yahoo…
We always said when we met, I’d never make you live in Spain, and he would never make me live in Australia because our families are so far away from us.
Considering their careers, Hollywood is actually a pretty decent spot to end up as it’s between the two nations. And yet, back in 2014 Hemsworth and Pataky packed up everything and left Southern California for Hemsworth’s home country.
While the pair may have initially decided they would not live in Australia, it was their kids that ultimately changed their minds. The couple has three children, a daughter and a pair of twin sons. Pataky says she and Hemsworth were looking for a quieter place to raise their kids, and the Byron Bay area of Australia was the perfect spot for them.
The distance between Australia and Spain apparently isn’t that big an issue for the family. A flight between the two nations takes around a full day to complete, which is quite significant. But it seems that the trip is worth it to raise the family in a place that makes everybody happy.
Chris Hemsworth has said he was “sick” of seeing his own face while traveling throughout Hollywood, while he also admitted to finding himself upset when he wasn’t getting the attention he was used to. Moving to Australia certainly fixes that problem to at least some agree, as he’s not expecting to see himself on billboards. At least not as much, and there aren’t paparazzi following him everywhere.
Hemsworth is just one of many Hollywood stars who have left Hollywood over the last few years. Matthew McConaughey lives in Texas, the place where he grew up, just as Hemsworth now does. Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively went to New York. Mark Wahlberg now lives in Las Vegas. The stars now live just about everywhere. While there was once a feeling you had to live in L.A. to be in Hollywood, once you’ve made it, that doesn’t seem to be the case.
Living in Australia seems to be working out for both the parents and the kids. Hemsworth’s son is turning into quite the surfer, which is something he could have done in Southern California, but it’s probably a lot more fun in Australia.