Kristin Cavallari Is Set to Move to Nashville: 'We're Going to Be There for a Very Long Time, If Not Forever'

It’s official! Kristin Cavallari and her family are saying goodbye to the place they’ve called home next week.

The Hills alum and her husband Jay Cutler, along with their three kids - Camden, 4, Jaxon, 2, and Saylor, 17 months - are leaving Chicago and are moving to Nashville on Tuesday.

“I have to say I’m kind of sad,” Cavallari, 30, told PEOPLE at the launch of her new jewelry line, Uncommon James, in West Hollywood on Thursday.

“My mom is in Chicago. I’ve made a lot of really good friends, so I definitely am sad,” the fashion designer and author, who first announced the news on Instagram last month, said.

Cavallari and Cutler’s move comes just a few weeks after the NFL quarterback was cut by the Chicago Bears in early March after eight seasons, but the Laguna Beach alum says that relocating to the Music City “has always been the plan.”

“We always knew this day was coming,” she explained. “And I am really looking forward to being in one place, setting up shop, getting my kids in school there.”

Added Cavallari: “And knowing that we’re going to be there for a very long time, if not forever, is a very exciting thing for me because my life is so hectic and so crazy that having a permanent home base is very comforting to me.”

Even though Nashville has been the couple’s goal all along, Cavallari’s oldest child may have had his own city of choice in mind.

RELATED VIDEO: Kristin Cavallari Shows Off Her Bikini Body on Vacation with Husband Jay Cutler

“Camden was like, Why are we not moving to L.A.?'” Cavallari said with a laugh. “I’m like, Ask your dad.’ ” (Cavallari famously grew up in Laguna Beach, California, and lived in L.A. after graduating high school.)

But the pair actually has a handful of reasons on why they wanted to put down roots in Nashville.

“Jay went to Vanderbilt [University], and actually the first weekend we ever hung out, we went to Nashville, and I fell in love with Nashville,” explained Cavallari. “So we actually bought our house, I think we had been dating for a year - we had just gotten engaged - and so we’ve had our house for about six years, and this has just always been the plan.”

She continued: “We think it’s a great place to raise a family. I love it. You know you still get all four seasons, but it’s much milder than other parts of the country and it’s just fun. The people are cool. There’s really good food. There’s always something fun to do. There’s not really a whole lot to not like about Nashville.”

And although they’re moving in just a few days, Cavallari admitted it hasn’t “really hit [her] yet.”

“We’re moving on Tuesday, so I mean it’s kind of crazy,” said the former reality star, who is heading to New York on Sunday evening to help E! with its Met Gala coverage before flying home Tuesday morning for moving day.