[jltsiren]

Travel is cheap if you don't have to pay for accommodation. Flying a few times a year between Europe and the US is definitely cheaper than renting in the US.

[strictnein]

Sure, but if you're not having to pay rent, why fly at all? Why not stay put and save that money?

[fragmede]

Because there are no jobs where they're not paying rent, so they can't afford to live there either.

[jltsiren]

Maybe the quality of life is better elsewhere. Maybe the differences in daily costs of living are enough to offset the flights. The article mentions Albania, where the nominal/PPP GDP figures suggest that prices are almost 3x lower than in the US.