This is pretty much my impression of the city, too, as an American (though I'm from New England, so there's a segment of Houstonians who'd probably say I'm not an American). In a fit of incredulity I said something like "it's a three-hundred-thousand-lane highway and you just merge across it to get anywhere."

It's a soulless place, and I was glad to be rid of it as fast as I was able.