By Breaking Celebrity News Staff

Troubled actress Amanda Bynes has decided to ditch Los Angeles and has told friends she plans making a permanent move to New York City so she can begin "her new life as a fashion designer," Breaking Celebrity News is exclusively reporting.

The former Nickelodeon teen star, who's facing five criminal charges in Los Angeles, including a DUI, two separate hit & run accidents, and two counts of driving on a suspended license "doesn't feel the need to stay in Los Angeles anymore since she can't drive," a source close to the situation tells us. "Amanda isn't required to be in court so she has gone to New York City, and says she plans on making it a permanent move. Amanda is adamant that she is retired from acting and wants to begin a new life in New York as a fashion designer. Amanda thinks she can live a more normal life on the East Coast and won't be hounded by the paps," the insider added. 

The 26-year-old was arrested for a DUI last April and picked up four more misdemeanor criminal charges. Bynes was pulled over and cited once again for driving on a suspended license in Burbank last weekend, which resulted in her car being impounded.

As Breaking Celebrity News previously reported, media reports stated last week that Amanda's parents had moved from Texas to California to be closer to their troubled daughter after her bizarre behavior following her DUI and hit and run criminal charges, but multiple sources close to the actress tell Breaking Celebrity News that is categorically false. Bynes cut off all contact with her family months ago.