Joe Rogan Admits He Considered Quitting America and Moving to Australia Before One Key Realization Stopped Him

Conservative podcast host Joe Rogan has revealed that he actually considered moving out of the U.S. and relocating to Australia—before coming to the realization that he would never be able to live in a country that doesn’t afford its citizens the same “freedom” as Americans enjoy.

During a recent interview with retired mixed martial arts fighter Royce Gracie, “The Joe Rogan Experience” host, 57, who relocated from California to Texas in 2020 with his whole family, opened up about where he once considered moving to if he didn’t live in the U.S.

“There’s no place that has this kind of freedom,” he said, before revealing: “I used to think Australia …”

However, he says that he ultimately realized the country wasn’t the place for him when he saw the strict COVID-19 protocols that were enforced during 2020.

Rogan made the bold claim that the reason authorities in Australia were able to implement such harsh quarantines during the pandemic was because of strict gun control laws, boldly stating: “I saw how they handled the pandemic [and] I was like, ‘Oh f***, well, that’s what happens when no one has guns.’

“Yep, the army just rolls in and tells you what to do and puts you in concentration camps because you have a cold, like it’s crazy.”

His use of the term “concentration camps” was in reference to comments made by some travelers who were quarantined for weeks when entering Australia—either in hotels or in isolation facilities that were criticized by many for their lack of comfort and amenities.

It is not the first time that Rogan has spoken out to criticize Australia’s strict COVID measures.

In a 2021 Instagram post, he slammed the country’s leaders for what he described as “dystopian, police-state measures,” writing: “Australia had the worst reaction to the pandemic with dystopian, police-state measures that are truly inconceivable to the rest of the civilized world.”

Although Rogan did not end up relocating overseas, he did make a major move in 2020, when he quit his life in California and moved to Austin, TX, where he purchased a $14.4 million megamansion from which he now records his infamous podcast.

The podcaster has managed to lure dozens of A-list celebrities to his new home on Lake Austin, where he has built a custom studio to record his show.

Rogan, a former comedian, previously provided UFC color commentary before launching his podcast in 2009. By 2015, he was one of the most popular podcasters.

He has since interviewed everyone from Edward Snowden to Neil deGrasse Tyson, J.D. Vance, and Bernie Sanders. (After Sanders appeared on his show in 2020, Rogan endorsed the Democratic Party candidate in the 2020 presidential race.)

In 2020, Rogan moved from Southern California to Austin after reportedly agreeing to an estimated $100 million deal to broadcast exclusively with Spotify.

In February 2024, Rogan reportedly signed a new $250 million agreement with Spotify that allowed him to broadcast on other platforms, including YouTube and Apple.

That same year, Rogan opened up about his decision to relocate to Texas, explaining that California’s strict COVID-19 restrictions were partly to blame.

“Everything’s shut down, everything’s staying shut down,” he recalled of the pandemic in California. “All my friends that were in the restaurant industry were struggling.

“I started looking out here in May [of that year], and I went to a restaurant with my kids, and they were like, ‘We don’t have to wear a mask? We could eat at a restaurant?’ Then we went to the lake, and people are playing music and jumping in the water, and [my children] were like, ‘We want to live here!’

“That was it. Two months later I lived here.”

In 2022, he explained that he believed he would find “more freedom” in Texas than he was able to enjoy on the West Coast.

Since his Texas move, he seems to be recording shows in a studio built inside his sleek mansion, which sits right on Lake Austin.

Rogan’s 4-acre property comes with 300 feet of Lake Austin frontage, according to the original listing. The 11,000-square-foot mansion was built in 2008 and offers eight bedrooms and 10 baths.

The parklike surroundings include “views of the lake and the undeveloped preserve land on the opposite side.” There are three docks, a pool, and terraces.

The mansion features a formal dining room with built-ins, a dual-island kitchen with a casual eating area, a living area with floor-to-ceiling windows, and an office. A gym can also be found on the grounds.

Rogan’s Instagram account reveals several upgrades he made in addition to his studio, including a cold plunge tub and a sauna.

The locale, not far from downtown Austin but seemingly a world away, was a draw for Hollywood A-lister Sandra Bullock, who reportedly owns a home in the area.