Allison Sweeney reflected on her decision to leave Los Angeles for Arizona 10 years ago
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"They don't call it a rat race for nothing,” the actress said
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The Days of Our Lives alum also explained that the past few years since leaving Hollywood with her family have been “a lot more laid back” and “peaceful”
Alison Sweeneyhas "no regrets" when it comes to leaving the bright lights of Hollywood.
Speaking toFox News Digitalabout her upcoming Hallmark film,Best Served Cold: A Hannah Swensen Mystery, the actress, 49, opened up about why she chose to leave Los Angeles for Arizona 10 years ago.
Emphasizing that she doesn't “regret it for a second,” Sweeney told the outlet that the decision was ultimately rooted in “wanting to create a great environment” for her and husband David Sanov's two kids: sonBenjamin, 21, and daughter Megan, 17.
"One of the first things I noticed about myself was how less stressed out I was," she recalled. "They don't call it a rat race for nothing, right?”
“You're in those big cities, and there's always this energy and lots of people thrive on it, but I had reached my max capacity,” theDays of Our Livesalum continued. “It was starting to really weigh on me and be a source of real stress to me all the time."
Now, compared to her old routine of going into the studio every day, Sweeney has found life in Arizona to be “a lot more laid back.”
"We're here and our kids go to school, and we go to the school events, and we are learning to play golf,” she said. “We're enjoying a lot of trips and travel, and I go up to Canada to work. But there is a peaceful net."
Sweeney still finds time to pursue her passion projects. Earlier this year, she chatted with PEOPLE aboutstarring in Hallmark'sRomance at Hope Ranchalongside her daughterMegan.
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"At first, I wasn't sure about casting her, but I'm so glad that I did," the actress said in February ahead of her daughter's acting debut. "I was surprised by how sincere and sweet the first scene was between Megan and me, when my character, Hope, drops her daughter off at college."
"I had initially approached it purely from an actor's perspective, but once we were filming together, the reality of the moment really hit me because of how soon I'll be dealing with that with Megan in our real lives," added Sweeney.
For her part, Megan expressed how “inspired” she had always been by her mom's dedication and love for acting.
“I wanted to make her proud since she offered me a role in her movie," she said at the time. "At first, I was incredibly nervous because I'd never acted in front of the camera before and wanted to be perfect for her."
"Once we got on set, because I was playing her daughter and, like my character, am going off to college soon, the scenes felt more natural than I anticipated," Megan added.
Best Served Cold: A Hannah Swensen Mysterypremieres on Hallmark Channel at 8 PM EST / 5 PM PST on May 16.
Read the original article onPeople