In a new interview with 'Austin Life' magazine, the 'Dawson's Creek' alum shared why his family followed the signs that led to Austin.
James Van Der Beek has been a Texan for almost a year now, but the decision to up and move his family from Los Angeles to Austin, Texas didn't come without some thought and a lot of meditation. In a new interview with Austin Life magazine, James and his wife, Kimberly, opened up about what drew them to the Lone Star State.
"We wanted to get the kids out of Los Angeles. We wanted to give them space and we wanted them to live in nature. When we were flying here for our anniversary, I felt an energy to Austin," the Dawson's Creek alum told the magazine about re-locating his wife and five kids, Olivia, 10, Joshua, 9, Annabel, 7, Emilia, 5 and Gwendolyn, 3. "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.’"
Kimberly said she asked Texas for permission to explore the state as a place to live, revealing that she and James meditated on the idea under an Oak tree before making their decision.
"When we were flying I asked Texas for permission to explore this as a place to live, just an energetic meditative sort of asking, and I got ‘yes.’ So, James and I took a drive and we thought we’re going to meditate under a tree and see if we get any information about living here," she shared.
Adding, "I found an Oak tree that I wanted and James said ‘Ok, let’s make sure’ and he kept driving and then we got to a T in the road and realized we’d been driving on Sacred Oak Lane. So, we went back to that tree and the information I was given was that Texas has the capacity to heal. It’s expansive and nature will hug you and heal you."
The decision was further solidified after the trying year the family had, with Kimberly suffering two late-term miscarriages and James dealing with the loss of his mother.
"We just had been through a crazy year with two late-term miscarriages and my body was still healing and it was hard for me to walk around at that point. I was still just a couple of months out of the hospital from my second one, so I was exhausted. James' mom had just passed, so to get that message from the trees of Texas was the nurturing hug we needed to feel welcomed here," she told the magazine. "It felt like LA had kind of birthed us out and there was a real calling to move. It came from desire, it came from dreams, and by the time we left LA we were in a deep gratitude for everything it had given us, but Texas was saying, ‘Here’s what you need and we can provide this next layer for you.’ That was exactly what we needed."
The 44-year-old actor and his wife talked to ET's Rachel Smith exclusively back in May about their family's move and the possibility of making Texas their permanent home.
"It's amazing, the kids are running around, loving the space," James told ET about how their children have adjusted to Austin's wide open spaces. "We watch the sun go down at night. We know what phase the moon is in, 'cause we look up at the sky and we can see it. It's just been a real blessing to be out here."
For Kimberly, it's being surrounded by nature that really sets Texas apart for their family.
"We had nature where we were too, if we go outside the city, but we're decidedly on the outskirts," she shared. "Just being able to see the big sky here and the big thunder storms and watch our kids really roam and grow up in trees, I grew up in trees, so it makes me happy."
While the couple admitted that California will always hold a special place in their hearts, they came to Texas to get out, and they're happy they did.
"We came here to try to get out, see how we felt," Kimberly continued. "We're so happy with Texas."
But that doesn't mean the family of seven is totally opposed to discovering even greener pastures.
"I never try to set anything in stone to let the universe flow through us," she added.
For more on the Van Der Beek family, watch the video below.
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