The economy is just as healthy. Energy has kept Texas going strong, and major offices of FedEx, Fidelity Investments, and travel company Sabre Holdings lie just outside Keller.

No wonder this town, which boasts immaculate parks and a spanking-new town center, has seen its population triple since 1990. "We keep hearing about this recession," says Tracey Ramirez, 49, a teaching aide in Keller, "but we don't really feel it here."

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