Former Child Star Christy Carlson Romano Reveals Why She Left Hollywood for Austin to Raise Daughters (Exclusive)

The former 'Even Stevens' star and her husband relocated to Austin, Texas, in 2020 to raise their daughters

For Christy Carlson Romano, moving her family out of California is one of the best decisions she’s ever made.

The former child star and her husband, Brendan Rooney — the masterminds behind podcast company PodCo — relocated to Austin, Texas, in 2020 with their two small daughters, and Romano tells PEOPLE that the move just felt “right.”

“I love that the girls can kind of be out of the Hollywood area,” she admits, noting that a lot of people often ask her if her daughters will follow in her industry footsteps. “I love California, we have our PodCo offices there. And I also truly feel at home in Austin. I have a really strong community of friends there, and I've really found a way to set down roots.”

Daughters Isabella, 7, and Sofia, 5, keep Romano busy, along with the podcast company she’s in charge of running, plus all of the work that goes into maintaining her own podcast, Vulnerable, where she often opens up about her life and former days as a Disney Channel star.

“Something I've realized is that my daughters think it's normal for people to come up to me because I'm so friendly to my fans,” says Romano. “My fans, especially since I started doing YouTube and podcasts, are so supportive and loving to me. And so my girls, I don't think they're freaked out about it because it just kind of feels like to them that I am talking to someone I know.”

Related: Christy Carlson Romano on the First Time Her Daughters Saw Her Perform: 'Mommy, You're on Stage!'

And though Romano’s kids are of a different generation than her fans, they are familiar with at least one of mom's famous characters.

“Kim Possible is my avatar on Disney Plus, so they do know I'm Kim Possible,” says Romano with a laugh.

Still, raising the next generation of women is a big responsibility, and Romano admits parenthood can be “scary” and comes with a lot of “loaded” questions.

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Related: Nick Jonas, Hilary Duff, and More Former Disney Channel Stars Who Are Now Parents

“How am I going to be a parent? How am I going to afford that? Am I going to have more than one, if one at all?” she says. “I have multiple children and I work, and so I want to always make sure that they have a very balanced life.”

Perhaps the biggest difference between Hollywood and Austin is the “slower pace,” says the Even Stevens star, though she notes that the city “still has all the things that [the girls] could need."

"I'm really happy that we live there," she says.

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