Scarred by 1 relocation experience, share your views?

As you can imagine that it is possibly nerve-wrecking enough to relocate...I did it 1 month before my first child was born, from living an asian life to a French one, no friends nor support group, and not speaking a word of French! The stress was immense for us as a young family, and I told myself not to do it again!

Fortunately, or unfortunately...my husband has just alerted me there is a possibility we will move to a place half hour's drive from Houston USA. His company is much more organised this time and will help us with the necessary paperwork on visas, insurance and offered to take us around for few days.

Please do share your honest views & experiences.

I have many concerns at the moment...
(Some examples quoted below are Malaysian as I'm most familiar with the city, Kuala Lumpur)

1) safety (I've only heard guns, gunshots, strikes, crazy people are a common sight) - sorry for the generalization

2) type of housing (what type is suited for expats who are new in town and slightly paranoid about safety, for e.g. for a new-comer in Malaysia, recommended to live in a luxury condominium within an expat residential area)

3) commuting (it is safe to take public transport anytime & any type? for e.g. in Malaysia, to be wary of pick pockets at all times and for single women to not commute after 7pm...just to avoid harrassment)

4) driving (are there many road bullies?)

5) social (I've searched for info online, most say it's easy to go around because people are very friendly in Houston & nearby but not easy to make friends. Is this true?)

6) education (I'm conscious of the fact that there are claims stating public schools in the Woodlands area are all good, but the definition of 'good' varies from one culture/country to another) Is it preferred for private school?

7) medical & insurance (I've also read many say it's very expensive and depending on what type of coverage is provided by the company, how do I know what's enough? It's confusing)

8) pests (I've also come across information that it's possible to find poisonous spiders, snakes on landed properties. is this true? Any other pests?)

Thank you in advance to those who care to share.
cheers