Why these digital nomads are starting a lunch club

After stints working as a branding designer in California and New York, North Jersey native Liz Borchert fully embraced the digital nomad life and set up shop in Philadelphia.

A more affordable cost of living and the need for a deeper sense of community beckoned Borchert, 28, into Philly’s Fishtown neighborhood and away from the Big Apple. One day, while on a tour of Bok makerspace, she met Sarah Skobeloff. They chatted, exchanged numbers and began hanging out at events.

Alongside Skobeloff, a Philly native with a background in advertising, Borchert wondered about a gathering place for digital nomads.

“I’ve been working from coffee shops by myself and I thought it would be great to have more face time events that are maybe more social and less formal,” Borchert said.

On March 1, the first iteration of Lunch Club 215 is happening at Fishtown’s Front Street Cafe. The $25-a-plate lunch gathering is meant to provide all Philly remote workers with a place to bond and share some non-screen time.

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(Wonder about digital nomadism? Here’s a postcard from DuckDuckGo engineer Olivia Haas, who split for Thailand to live her best life.)

“When you don’t work a traditional 9-to-5, you don’t have holiday parties or happy hours,” Skobeloff said, hoping the lunch can help spark those kinds of connections. “I love the coworking model, but this gives workers an excuse to come out of their bubble.”

Is Philly home to many digital nomads? With more companies following the distributed route these days, and Philly’s profile as a startup city rising, that number — whatever it is — is likely to continue growing.