James Van Der Beek recently opened up about his family’s decision to move from Los Angeles to Austin, Texas in 2020, saying it’s been very “grounding.” He spoke about how amazing it is that he now gets to spend quality time with his six children and wife Kimberly, who he has been married to since 2010. “I know for me, it’s been really centering and I feel like for the kids, it’s been grounding, and a different kind of education that we never could have offered them in a classroom,” he told People magazine.

The “Dawson Creek” star explained that one of the main reasons his family decided to move to Texas was to be closer to nature. “We love it. We have a lot more space,” said Van Der Beek. “We all need a more immediate connection to nature. It’s been a really, really great move and the kids are really happy.” He also spoke about his family’s newfound love for visiting state parks now that they are more accessible with their move. “The parks have been amazing,” he told Fox News Digital. “We’ve been going to state parks and the national parks. It’s just one of the benefits of getting out of the big city was getting to a place where we could just have more space right outside our door. It’s a very, it’s a very different life.”

Van Der Beek also spoke about how his six children have been adjusting to the move. “They jump around. They sing, ‘rain, rain come today,’ and they run out in it, because we need it,” Van Der Beek said of his children. “It’s just connected us, not just to nature, but to the natural life cycles all around us.”

The family recently visited Los Angeles back in April where Van Der Beek posted a family photo on Instagram where he spoke about his return to Los Angeles. “It didn’t feel like home anymore. Maybe it never was. Or maybe it was home for the time it needed to be,” he said in the caption. He continued by saying, “I’m looking forward to getting back to my trees, dogs and fresh air, and planting some actual seeds in some real Texas dirt.”