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The headquarters of his companies X and Boring are now on the outskirts of Bastrop, a small city near the state capital Austin and about a five-and-a-half-hour drive north of Starbase.

In contrast with Starbase, the development outside Austin does not include much new housing for company workers – most of whom live in Bastrop or other surrounding communities.

Alfonso Lopez, a Texan who returned to the state after working in tech in Seattle, says he initially picked Bastrop figuring he would make a quick buck on a house purchase and move on.

But to protect Bastrop, she says, the city has recently enacted laws limiting housing density and providing for public parks - measures that she says will keep the "historic nature" of the well-preserved downtown while allowing for growth on the outskirts.

Bastrop, she says, is a conservative, traditionally Republican place.