After the First World War writers and artists moved to Paris in search of a cheap and exciting place to work. They soon found each other — in Gertrude Stein's house, the Shakespeare and Company bookstore and countless cafés. Today's globally mobile scientific community similarly forms homes-from-home abroad.

Expatriate organizations for scientists exist at every scale and level of formality. At one end of the spectrum are groups such as BioBrits. Based in San Diego, this group of about 100 Britons involved in biotechnology do not even have a website. Members simply meet up each month for a beer and a gossip. At the other extreme is the Society of Chinese Bioscientists in America (SCBA), a group so huge it has its own building, staff and a sophisticated web presence (http://www.scba-society.org).

Whatever their size, expat organizations are important for job seekers. They pool resources, provide networking opportunities and often, as with the SCBA, collate lists of jobs from all over the world. Recruitment organizations are now trying to capitalize on the strengths of these expatriate communities. One of the most extensive of these is Talent Scotland (http://www.talentscotland.com), which aims to recruit expatriate Scots working in information technology and the life sciences and bring them back home. It seems to be working: so far, more than 28,000 people have registered at the website, and 750 Scots have returned.

More Scottish expats may soon find the lure of home irresistible, as the country has seen a surge in infrastructure investment in the sciences that should continue for the next several years (see page 128). In Paris, the itinerant writers were dubbed ‘the lost generation’. To global recruiters, the present generation of expat scientists can now be considered to be well and truly found.