Eeeeeeek help ... Looks like I'm moving to Texas !

Welcome to Expat.com Jemma!

Hope that you'll soon be enlightened.

I suggest you to download the US Expat PDF guide.

Harmonie.

Where to live, this is probably going to be driven by were you work, Houston is a big place and the traffic can be bad if you have to commute to work. Personally we live in an area called the Heights which is closer to downtown and has a nice feel to it with some good bars/ restaurants and easy access to bike trails and parks also my work is out of town so I go against commuter traffic.
The driving is pretty atrocious but is unavoidable this is a car city I am afraid, taxis are expensive and public transport is not widely used,  I would suggest that you get a GPS as that takes some of the pressure off trying to find your way around we have found ours very helpful.
Not sure I am able to comment on the social scene as we have a toddler so don’t get out late very often so will leave that question for others.

Thanks Sprocket !! ... I'll be working on Main Street ??
I'll have a look today to see how close that is to the heights.

Haha I'd not even thought of navigation with the driving ! The traffic was scary enough ...
Now I'm petrified ! ... How hard can it be though right ?! :-/

Thanks again ... Jemma

The traffic can't be any worse than London traffic Jemma. Just remember to stick to the right side of the road. I found driving in NY a lot easier than in London. What I always do when I drive in a new place is to first start driving after the sun has gone down, all you need to do then is follow the red lights :-) have fun in Texas and make sure to visit Austin which has a great live music scene! enjoy the sunshine!

Congrats on your job in Houston! I lived there for several years - it's a much better place to live than it is to visit. The biggest negative is 4 months of summer heat and humidity but as far as social activities are concerned you should never be short of something to do.

I assume you'll be looking for a place to rent and perhaps your company will hook you up with a relocation agent. There are plenty of apartment complexes to choose from and places to rent inside and outside the (610) loop. A convenient possibility for you would be somewhere in Midtown, handy for work and close to entertainment at the Theatre district and Discovery Green and not too far from the Museum District and the Miller Outdoor Theatre.

It would be possible to live and work around there without a car, especially with the Metrorail now running from downtown to the museum district, but really in Houston you'll want a car. When I moved there I was already used to driving on the right but I do remember trying to avoid lane changes the first couple of commutes as I focused on making the right exit. That soon passes and you'll soon find it much smoother than driving in London.

However, if you live outside the loop you will have to do the busy commute every day and traffic can be heavy. That's why I would suggest renting somewhere in Midtown or possibly near the Galleria or in the Heights. Much further out and you get to suburbia, which I would argue is less fun for singles. My first few years were spent at Westcreek at River Oaks - westcreekatriveroaks.com - very social, lots of expats there, bit of a party place!