<p>If you want to enjoy the city, you’ll need public transportation, so look into schools located at Philadelphia and the Washington, DC area, as well as Portland, Chicago, and Minneapolis/StPaul. Don’t forget to look for “college towns”, which are actually excellent to experience “cities” for young people without some downsides of urban living.</p>
<p>And yes there would be a major culture shock for a European coming to the US (outside of NYC and Boston) but it wouldn’t be restricted to Houston.</p>