James Van Der Beek and his wife Kimberly have five special reasons they fled Hollywood for Austin, Texas – their children, Olivia, 10, Joshua, 9, Annabel, 7, Emilia, 5, and Gwendolyn, 3.
The Varsity Blues actor packed up his family last year and headed east for a new life outside of Tinseltown. He previously stated restrictions were too cumbersome in California. At the time of their move, Van Der Beek complained that you couldn’t even fly a kite in the park.
These restrictions and regulations impacted how he wanted to raise his children.
The Van Der Beek Decision
“We wanted to get the kids out of Los Angeles,” he shared with Austin Life magazine. “We wanted to give them space and we wanted them to live in nature.”
A 10th-anniversary trip with Kimberly helped seal the deal and identify where they would move. The couple recently had two late term miscarriages. They felt Texas had the “capacity to heal” them.
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“When we were flying here for our anniversary, I felt an energy to Austin,” the actor said. “The energy was the same energy that I’d felt shooting ‘Varsity Blues’ here when I was 21, and I realized that feeling wasn’t just where I was in my career or the movie I was shooting, all of which were very exciting, but that the energy is the place. It was really cool to realize, ‘Oh, I can go be there. We can drop in and bring our family to that.’”
Welcoming Atmosphere
It’s not just the lack of restrictions in Texas that is such a draw. The people have been welcoming and it’s a different atmosphere. There is a sense of caring and a community approach to life and neighbors.
“I’m not knocking on LA, and I love all my friends there, but in LA if you get sick, you get a Postmates delivery,” Kimberly said. “If you want to move, you get a moving truck recommendation. In Texas, somebody makes you something and brings it to your doorstep or you have five friends pulling up with their trucks to help you move. It’s just a different way of life here. It’s not to say one is better than the other, but it’s that hands-on village lifestyle that I’ve been craving for so long.”
“In LA it was, ‘Let me know if I can help,” which is what I always said too. I’m not knocking the people who said that. But here, it’s been, ‘How can I support?’ And literally showing up with a pick-up truck. People here are so nice.” James added.
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Last October when Van Der Beek chronicled his family’s move to Texas, many chimed in telling him to leave California leftist politics behind.
They didn’t want him to spoil their state.
But the actor reassured them that was not going to happen. James Van Der Beek is not about to mess with Texas.
BACKSTORY: Here’s Why James Van Der Beek Moved His Family From LA To Texas
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