Hollywood star James Van Der Beek is the latest in a long line of Californians trading the bright lights for the blue skies of the Lone Star State.
The "Dawson's Creek" star announced on Instagram that he is "onto the next big adventure," moving his family from Beverly Hills to Austin.
Kimberly Van Der Beek, the actor's wife, said in an August episode of "The Make Down" podcast that the family was moving to the Austin area to "get out of the concrete jungle for a little bit." The couple, along with their five young children and four dogs, embarked on a 10-day road trip to their new home state.
The Van Der Beeks join the ranks of other celebrities that call Austin home like Matthew McConaughey and Elijah Wood.
It's not just Hollywood stars that are fleeing California's high cost of living and taxes. According to a 2020 Texas Relocation Report published by Texas Realtors, more than 86,000 California residents moved to Texas in 2019—the most of any other state. The relocation rate has increased by 36.4% since 2017.
More celebrity news:
Elijah Wood's Victorian Austin home goes on the market
- Matthew McConaughey's new book joins Texas Book Festival ... ›
- Anthony Michael Hall apologizes for bad behavior in Austin hotel ... ›
- Joe Rogan's new home is a $14 million mansion on Lake Austin ... ›
- Austin's Andy Roddick is about to get served, charity style - austonia ›
- Tiger King's husband arrested in Travis county - austonia ›
- Austin is one of the least affordable cities in the country - austonia ›
- Dave Chappelle filmed in mask altercation at Austin hotel - austonia ›
- Celebrities who moved to austin, texas in 2020, and those to move in 2021 - austonia ›
Popular
Homeless residents have set up tents on Cesar Chavez Street near the historic Buford Tower, which caught fire earlier this month after a blaze spread from the neighboring camp. (Emma Freer)
Spearheaded by the political action committee Save Austin Now, Prop B is a direct response to City Council's 2019 decision to overturn a 23-year-old ban on such activities. This is the second time the group has tried to get the issue on the ballot since the first petition was ruled invalid by the county clerk for duplicate signatures and other issues last year. Homeless advocates campaigned against the ban, arguing that it criminalized homelessness and led to citations and tickets that prevented homeless people from accessing housing, employment and other resources. Since then, the city's homeless population has grown in size and visibility.
SAN, advocates and council members generally agree that the situation is untenable, but they disagree about the ban's merit. Austinites who are directly impacted—including people who live near camps, downtown business owners and homeless residents—feel similarly embattled, telling Austonia that, regardless of how they plan to vote, not enough is being done to house the homeless.
Word on the street
Lisa Novak bought a condo in the East Riverside neighborhood in 2013, drawn in by its affordability and Guerrero Park. She attributes the increase in camping along the Riverside Drive median to council's decision to repeal the ban. "It turned into open season," she said.
Novak worries about the recent spate of fires and how camps affect area business owners and incoming tourists. After her husband witnessed a violent exchange between two panhandlers, the couple stopped walking to their neighborhood H-E-B. She will vote for Prop B and disagrees with advocates who say it criminalizes homelessness. "I'm sorry, but as a member of society there are certain rules and regulations," she said.
Kevin Ludlow's Windsor Park home sits right behind a long-time homeless camp along Little Tannehill Branch Creek. He estimates he has spent hundreds of hours talking to city staff, council members, nonprofits and police about trash and safety concerns.
Ludlow is undecided on Prop B. He thinks a ban will address these issues, but he also feels police could be more responsive to reports of theft, vandalism and other crimes without penalizing campers who are otherwise law-abiding. "There's no winning hand, and I feel it's by design," he said.
David Kruger, fourth-generation owner of Kruger's Diamond Jewelers on Congress Avenue, is similarly ambivalent. Although homeless residents often camp out in his entryway, his issue is with city leadership, whom he feels are incapable of developing solutions. "I'm probably going to vote in favor of it, I guess, but I'd feel better if there was another item that addressed the problem," he said, comparing Prop B to trying to put toothpaste back in the tube.
Christopher Carr, a member of the Austin Homeless Advisory Committee who has been intermittently homeless since graduating from the University of Texas at Austin in the 1990s, is more decisive. A poet who loves opera and has bipolar disorder, he camps near the intersection of 15th and San Antonio streets. When the ban was in effect, he was often harassed by police he says. "You felt like you might have a few seconds before the cops showed up (if you sat down on a sidewalk)," he said.
Since the ban was lifted, Carr feels Austin's housed residents have turned against the homeless: "If you don't like seeing all these tents everywhere, why don't you not like the country where this level of indigency exists?"
A stopgap measure
Save Austin Now argues that repealing the ban has adversely impacted public safety, residents and businesses and left homeless people to live in unsafe conditions. Ken Casaday, president of the Austin Police Association and SAN board member, added that the council vote left residents out of the process. "For me, the big issue is 'let the citizens vote,'" he said. "If the citizens vote down Prop B, we'll live with it."
But the May 1 election is likely not the end of this debate. Texas lawmakers are considering a statewide ban on public camping in a clear rebuke of local policy.
Chris Harris, director of Texas Appleseed's Criminal Justice Project and an activist who helped overturn the ban in 2019, argued that the decision has made homelessness more visible, leading to greater investment by the city and nonprofits. "No matter what happens with Prop B or with these bills at the Legislature, our community can't forget about this issue," he said. "We decriminalized homelessness not because we saw it as a solution to homelessness but because we thought it was (an issue of) right-or-wrong."
- Austin City Council's homeless camp housing plan moves ahead ... ›
- Video shows 'massive problems' with homeless camp in Austin ... ›
- Calls, counts and camps: Homelessness in Austin by the numbers ... ›
- Save Austin Now relaunches petition to reinstate camping ban ... ›
- Texas Senate considers statewide homeless camping ban - austonia ›
