"After the logistics of housing, schools, transportation and jobs are sorted, returning emigrants are left with a crucial task: putting themselves back together again. Slotting new lives into old ones and finding pieces of yourself in different places like a jigsaw puzzle," writes Lisa Tierney-Keogh, who has taken to swimming in the Irish Sea since her move back to Dublin from New York, leaving her feeling - literally and figuratively - out of her depth. Lisa has been one of our most regular contributors to Irish Times Abroad this year, but if you've enjoyed reading her articles, don't worry - she has a few more on the way both for us and the Health section over the coming weeks.
Last week as Vienna was ranked the world's "most liveable city" by the Economist, we heard the views of some Irish people resident there who gushed about the efficient public transport system, varied cultural scene, and cheap rents. But Claire Healy, who works with the International Centre for Migration Policy Development in the city, says the welcome has been far from warm for some newcomers in one of this week's most-read articles.
Nellie Bly was a pioneering young Irish-American journalist, who beat Phileas Fogg's fictitious record by going around the world in 72 days, and faked insanity to study a lunatic asylum from within while working under the editorship of Joseph Pulitzer. Her remarkable story is recounted in this week's Extraordinary Emigrants column by Nathan Mannion.
Steal a pig in Tipperary in 1841, and you could be sentenced to Australia to serve out your punishment, which was the fate that awaited 21-year-old labourer John "Red" Kelly after his conviction. His story is just one among thousands of records gathered in the new online Australian Convict Collection.
Tax-free salaries are a huge incentive for the many Irish people working in construction, healthcare, and especially education, across the Middle East. If you are thinking about moving to one of the Gulf States, our newly updated Irish Times Abroad destination guide has all you need to know about visas, jobs, accommodation and more.
In an exclusive offer to Irish Times Abroad readers, we’re offering 50 per cent off your first three months when you subscribe to The Irish Times today. This offer is only available to readers outside Ireland.
And if you're missing home this summer and like the sound of a free trip back to Ireland including flights, accommodation and spending money, our summer Flying Visit competition is closing soon. Enter here.
You'll find plenty more stories by and about the Irish diaspora this week on irishtimes.com/abroad.
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