ATHENS: Last year, Eirini Syntihaki was renting an apartment she loved in central Athens near friends, work and the city’s many streetside cafes. Then a few months ago, her flatmate moved out and lawyers representing the apartment’s Chinese owners said they planned to raise the rent, which was already 700 euros — nearly Syntihaki’s entire earnings. “With pain in my heart, I’m leaving a home I really love, the area, the house itself, the memories,” the 28-year-old criminologist said as she packed her belongings before moving in with her sister.