20 Stories About What It’s Like to Live Between Time Zones

The more we learn about time, the more fake it feels. Sure, texting a friend who lives across the country requires doing all kinds of mental math before you hit the send button, but that’s nothing compared to the topsy-turvy world of living and working in different time zones. 

One Redditor described their perplexing, time-defying commute for a 7 a.m. shift. They wake up, get ready and are on the road by 7. After driving for 40 minutes, they pull up to work, look at the dashboard and check the time: 7 a.m. Before punching in, they take a moment to “contemplate the existence and the arbitrary concept of time.”

Other Redditors who exist between time zones have shared the things they deal with on a daily basis, including an extra happy hour, two New Year’s Eve celebrations in one night and the pain of never being able to say “5 p.m.” without serious clarification.