Josh Duhamel Sells $2.9 Million Encino Home to Invest in North Dakota

Q: Why did Josh Duhamel trade a lucrative Los Angeles estate for a survivalist, off-grid lifestyle in the remote Midwest?

Josh Duhamel made the switch because he says the Midwest better fits the life he wants for his family and himself than Los Angeles does. The Encino house had become, in his words, a transition property after his divorce from Fergie and before building a new family with wife Audra Mari. Once he had been renting it out for years, he decided he would “rather put that money in North Dakota,” where he now lives much of the time in Fargo with Mari and their young children. Duhamel has repeatedly said the draw is not just financial. He wants his children growing up outdoors, with more privacy, less screen time, and a stronger connection to land and community. He has described his Minnesota cabin and surrounding acreage as a place where his stress drops, his priorities reset, and he feels more grounded. He has also said the property gives him a sense of purpose because it requires hands-on work and self-reliance. That off-grid retreat, which he has spent nearly two decades expanding from a small parcel into roughly 50 acres, also reflects a survivalist streak. Duhamel has spoken openly about building wells, food plots, solar and propane systems, and learning to live more independently in case of emergencies. He has called himself a “doomsday prepper,” though he also frames the property as a peaceful escape rather than simply a bunker. In short, he traded Los Angeles luxury for land, privacy, family life, and a more self-sufficient lifestyle rooted in his North Dakota upbringing.

Q: What hidden survival features are built into the secret Minnesota retreat where Josh Duhamel is shielding his children from screens?

The hidden survival features reported at Josh Duhamel’s remote Minnesota retreat are practical off-grid systems rather than luxury add-ons: multiple wells for independent water access, solar power, propane-fueled energy and heat, and food plots planted to attract game for hunting. Accounts of the property describe it as a self-reliant “doomsday prepper” cabin that Duhamel has spent nearly two decades expanding from a small 12-acre parcel into roughly 50 acres. He has said the land includes three wells and planted plots with clover and chicory, designed to support wildlife and make hunting easier if the family ever had to live off the land. He has also explained that each cabin has its own well, and that the retreat operates apart from municipal utilities, relying instead on solar panels for daily electricity and propane tanks for high-energy appliances and heating. In earlier years, the site reportedly had no running water or bathroom facilities, underscoring how deliberately it was built around self-sufficiency. That survival-minded setup fits with Duhamel’s broader description of the property as a place where his children can grow up outdoors, away from screens, while also serving as a fallback refuge in an emergency.

1 articles · Updated · Fox News · Jul 24

Josh Duhamel said he sold a 3,310-square-foot Encino house earlier this month after renting it out for the past couple of years.
The 53-year-old actor said he would rather put the money into North Dakota, where he now lives in Fargo with wife Audra Mari and their young children.
Los Angeles remains part of his routine because his 12-year-old son Axl still goes to school there, leaving Duhamel traveling back and forth between the two places.
A little over a year after describing his off-grid Minnesota retreat, Duhamel said that lifestyle also helped shape his approach to Netflix's 'Ransom Canyon,' whose second season is now streaming.