When you move to Arizona from the Midwest, West, or the East coast, you will experience a time change. That is to be expected and no big deal. What you may not realize is that in the state of Arizona we don’t recognize Daylight Savings Time. What that means is that our time does not “fall back” or “spring forward” along with the rest of the country and that can become a big deal!
Our time does not change! So, when your friends and relatives from “back home” call you at what they think is 8AM depending on where they are, it could be 5 or 6 AM in Arizona! Because I chose to keep my Illinois phone number, I still get telemarketer calls at 6 and 7 AM because they think I live in Illinois!
Before I retired, my corporate office was in Illinois, and I worked from home. Imagine taking care of employees located in Boston on the East Coast and Illinois in the Midwest! What is a good time to reach you?
The key to dealing with the time difference is to first understand what the actual time is. In the fall, from November to March, Arizona is the same as Mountain Standard Time. From March to November, we are the same as Pacific Standard Time. So, if it’s June and someone from Illinois calls, you will be 2 hours behind them. If the call comes from the East coast, you will be 3 hours behind them. The West coast will be the same time as Arizona.
If it’s December, you will be 1 hour behind Illinois and 2 hours behind the East Coast. You will be one hour ahead of the west coast. My display may help sort this out!
There is also a time listed on most calendar apps called Arizona Standard Time, and it will adjust any time entered to the correct time in Arizona. It takes a while to get used to and the calendar certainly helps but truthfully, you may never be comfortable with time changes and dealing with people outside of Arizona. I had hoped at one point that the U.S. was going to do away with the moving clock, but it doesn’t appear that that will happen any time soon.
So, I’ll just keep trying to remember what month it is and keep spreading the word to friends, associates, and family – “my time is different – think before you dial!
# Transplanted