With more than 30 years in the industry, Mel, a Texas native, counts the last 15 months with Saudi Aramco as being among the best. “With an opportunity to help build a world-class crisis communications program, I've learned about doing business in different ways while achieving excellent results,” Mel says. “A standout experience was a drill exercise in Egypt, where we worked with different government agencies and developed strong working relationships.”

Because they have adult children, the decision to try the Saudi Aramco expat lifestyle was easy. “We enjoy the slower pace of life and becoming friends with expats from all over the world,” Mel says. “When our son visited recently, he said, ‘Why didn't we come sooner so I could've grown up here?’”

When they want to pick up the pace, Mel and his wife, Julie, have plenty of choices within the community and beyond the horizon. “We've made more friends here than we've ever had, and the recreational opportunities in the community have provided a quality of life that we've never experienced before – there's something fun for everyone,” Mel says.

Taking advantage of extended vacations means extra time for family visits and travel to exotic destinations. For Julie, her favorite trip so far has been to Sri Lanka. “We've traveled to places I could only dream of in the past,” Mel says.