UNDATED (USA TODAY) -- Big buzz in the soap world: Steve Burton is checking out of General Hospital after 21 years.

"I have no complaints, no negative feelings at all. But it's time to go," he tells TV Guide. "I'm going to take some time off and do nothing but relax, just enjoy life a little bit with my wife and kids. I've bought a home in Tennessee, way out in the country outside Nashville. [Laughs] Probably too far out in the country! I've been talking about leaving GH and moving there for the last seven years."

He adds that he doesn't know what it means for his character, Jason Morgan, or the exact time frame of his exit, other than to say, "right now my last tape date is Sept. 25 but I told them I'm happy to stay for another couple of weeks if it helps wrap things up. So it looks like I will be on air through October, maybe into November."

Even though it sounds like he's putting himself out to pasture, he's not. He'll be working with James Franco on a new telenovela project.