But a decade on, she still lives in a tiny, rented room - one of tens of thousands of young Portuguese hit by a housing crisis exacerbated by the arrival of richer foreigners lured in by incentives pushed by her own government.
Rights groups have pointed a finger at the "golden visas", which the government has promised to scrap. The programme has been giving foreigners residents' rights since 2012 in return for investments, attracting 6.8 billion euros primarily into real estate.
Portugal is one of Western Europe's poorest countries, with government data showing more than 50% of workers earned less than 1,000 euros ($1,084) per month last year. The monthly minimum wage is 760 euros.
on the front of the visa card
The Socialist government announced last month a housing package that, among other measures, ended the controversial "Golden Visa" scheme and banned new licenses for Airbnb properties but critics say it is not enough to lower prices in the short term.
Low wages and high rents make Lisbon the world's third-least viable city to live in, according to a study by insurance brokers CIA Landlords. Portugal's current 8.2% inflation rate has exacerbated the problem.
LISBON, April 1 (Reuters) - Thousands of people took to the streets of Lisbon and other cities across Portugal on Saturday in protest against soaring rents and house prices at a time when high inflation is making it even tougher for people to make ends meet.
Rents in Lisbon, a tourist hotspot, have jumped 65% since 2015 and sale prices have sky-rocketed 137% in that period, figures from Confidencial Imobiliario, which collects data on housing, show. Rents increased 37% last year alone, more than in Barcelona or Paris, according to another real estate data company, Casafari.
"With my salary, which is higher than the average salary in Lisbon, I cannot afford renting a flat because it's too expensive," said Nuncio Renzi, a sales executive from Italy living in the capital. ($1 = 0.9226 euros) (Reporting by Miguel Pereira and Pedro Nunes Writing by Catarina Demony Editing by Frances Kerry)
Since then, critics say those schemes have come back to bite the economy by ramping up competition for scarce housing - fuelling inflation and piling pressure particularly onto young, local, entry-level workers.
Rents in Lisbon have jumped 65% since 2015 and sale prices have sky-rocketed 137%, figures from Confidencial Imobiliario, which collects data on housing, show. Rents increased 37% last year alone, more than in Barcelona or Paris, according to another real estate data company, Casafari.
"Even for me - having an income from another country - it's a lot of money," Esmee said. "If housing stays this expensive or gets worse, (foreign) people earning a Portuguese income ... will start moving back to their own countries."
But even some of those remote workers are becoming increasingly aware of the housing crisis. Esmee, a 28-year-old from the Netherlands, lives in the coastal town of Costa da Caparica, across the Tagus, and pays 825 euros per month for her flat.
Portugal ranks as one of western Europe's poorest nations. But its capital was last year ranked the world's third least financially viable city, thanks to its punishing combination of low wages and high rents.
The 30-year-old, who has two degrees in tourism, shares a flat with five others, pays 450 euros ($475) per month for a 13 square-metre mezzanine room, but makes as little as 800 euros a month during the low tourism season.
Some leave the city. Some stay with their parents. If you have any concerns pertaining to where and ways to use golden visa program, you can call us at the web site. The average age people leave the parental home in Portugal is 33.6, the highest in the European Union, according to data from the bloc's statistics office.
Rights groups have pointed a finger at the "golden visas", which the government has promised to scrap. The programme has been giving foreigners residents' rights since 2012 in return for investments, attracting 6.8 billion euros primarily into real estate.
Portugal is one of Western Europe's poorest countries, with government data showing more than 50% of workers earned less than 1,000 euros ($1,084) per month last year. The monthly minimum wage is 760 euros.
on the front of the visa card
The Socialist government announced last month a housing package that, among other measures, ended the controversial "Golden Visa" scheme and banned new licenses for Airbnb properties but critics say it is not enough to lower prices in the short term.
Low wages and high rents make Lisbon the world's third-least viable city to live in, according to a study by insurance brokers CIA Landlords. Portugal's current 8.2% inflation rate has exacerbated the problem.
LISBON, April 1 (Reuters) - Thousands of people took to the streets of Lisbon and other cities across Portugal on Saturday in protest against soaring rents and house prices at a time when high inflation is making it even tougher for people to make ends meet.
Rents in Lisbon, a tourist hotspot, have jumped 65% since 2015 and sale prices have sky-rocketed 137% in that period, figures from Confidencial Imobiliario, which collects data on housing, show. Rents increased 37% last year alone, more than in Barcelona or Paris, according to another real estate data company, Casafari.
"With my salary, which is higher than the average salary in Lisbon, I cannot afford renting a flat because it's too expensive," said Nuncio Renzi, a sales executive from Italy living in the capital. ($1 = 0.9226 euros) (Reporting by Miguel Pereira and Pedro Nunes Writing by Catarina Demony Editing by Frances Kerry)Since then, critics say those schemes have come back to bite the economy by ramping up competition for scarce housing - fuelling inflation and piling pressure particularly onto young, local, entry-level workers.
Rents in Lisbon have jumped 65% since 2015 and sale prices have sky-rocketed 137%, figures from Confidencial Imobiliario, which collects data on housing, show. Rents increased 37% last year alone, more than in Barcelona or Paris, according to another real estate data company, Casafari.
"Even for me - having an income from another country - it's a lot of money," Esmee said. "If housing stays this expensive or gets worse, (foreign) people earning a Portuguese income ... will start moving back to their own countries."
But even some of those remote workers are becoming increasingly aware of the housing crisis. Esmee, a 28-year-old from the Netherlands, lives in the coastal town of Costa da Caparica, across the Tagus, and pays 825 euros per month for her flat.
Portugal ranks as one of western Europe's poorest nations. But its capital was last year ranked the world's third least financially viable city, thanks to its punishing combination of low wages and high rents.
The 30-year-old, who has two degrees in tourism, shares a flat with five others, pays 450 euros ($475) per month for a 13 square-metre mezzanine room, but makes as little as 800 euros a month during the low tourism season.
Some leave the city. Some stay with their parents. If you have any concerns pertaining to where and ways to use golden visa program, you can call us at the web site. The average age people leave the parental home in Portugal is 33.6, the highest in the European Union, according to data from the bloc's statistics office.
