Working US Hours From Medellín: Time Zones and Scheduling

Colombia stays on the same clock all year (UTC-5) and does not change its clocks for daylight saving. The US does, so the gap between Medellín and North America moves by one hour twice a year. For the period this guide covers, October 2026 to March 2027, the switches fall on Sunday, November 1, 2026 and Sunday, March 14, 2027. Eastern time is the closest match: one hour ahead of Medellín in US summer and the same hour in US winter. Pacific time is two or three hours behind.

If your clients or employer are in North America, that makes Medellín one of the easier bases for a remote worker. This guide gives the conversions with real dates, the weeks when meeting times shift, and what to look for in a rental if your calls fall early or late. For setups, see also coworking versus working from your apartment.

Colombia Does Not Change Its Clocks

The Instituto Nacional de Metrología, which publishes Colombia’s official legal time, defines it as UTC-5, Coordinated Universal Time minus five hours. We checked the IANA time zone database (version 2026c) through Python’s zoneinfo: for America/Bogota it shows no clock change between September 2026 and April 2027. That means your Colombian day never moves. Everyone else’s does. When a client says “nine o’clock Eastern,” the Medellín hour depends on the date.

The US Dates and the Real Offset Table

US federal law (15 U.S.C. § 260a) starts daylight time at 2 a.m. on the second Sunday of March and ends it at 2 a.m. on the first Sunday of November. The US Naval Observatory describes the same rule, with clocks jumping from 2 a.m. to 3 a.m. in spring and falling from 2 a.m. to 1 a.m. in autumn. Applied to our window, and confirmed with zoneinfo, it gives three periods:

Read each cell as the client’s clock compared with yours. In the first row, New York is one hour ahead of Medellín and Los Angeles is two hours behind. The Naval Observatory notes that Hawaii and most of Arizona stay on standard time all year, which is why Arizona does not move. By the same check, Hawaii is five hours behind Medellín all year. Canada follows its own rules, which we did not verify for this guide, so look up your province before you schedule.

What a 9-to-5 Looks Like From Medellín

The practical reading: on the East Coast you work almost a normal day. On the West Coast your calls fall late in the afternoon and evening, and your mornings are free for focused work. We computed this table with zoneinfo using sample dates of October 26 and November 2, 2026, and March 8 and 15, 2027.

The Weeks When Meeting Times Shift

When the US changes its clocks and Colombia does not, a recurring meeting that stays at the same US hour moves by an hour in Medellín. A 9 a.m. Eastern call is 8 a.m. in Medellín on Monday, October 26, 2026 and 9 a.m. on Monday, November 2. It is 9 a.m. on Monday, March 8, 2027 and 8 a.m. on Monday, March 15. Three habits prevent confusion:

• Name the zone in invites. Write “3 p.m. Eastern (2 p.m. Colombia)” instead of “3 p.m.” and check which of the two it is on that date.
• Set your calendar to Colombia time and add a second clock for your client’s zone.
• Recheck recurring meetings the week before Sunday, November 1, 2026 and Sunday, March 14, 2027.

Europe changes on different dates, so the gap differs for a couple of weeks. The tz database, which we read through zoneinfo but have not cross-checked against a European government source, shows London and Madrid changing on Sunday, October 25, 2026 and Sunday, March 28, 2027. Against Medellín, London is six hours ahead until October 25, five hours ahead from then until March 28, and six hours ahead afterwards. Madrid is seven, six and seven hours ahead in the same three periods. Use a converter for exact times in the odd weeks.

Three Scheduling Patterns

1. East Coast or Central clients. Work a normal daytime schedule. Reserve mornings for deep work and afternoons for calls.
2. West Coast clients. Do focused work in the morning, rest at midday, take calls from about late morning to evening. Plan for dinner after your last call.
3. Europe-facing clients. Expect early calls and an earlier evening. Protect your sleep.

Choosing a Rental for Early or Late Calls

If your calls land at odd hours, the apartment matters more than the neighborhood’s coffee. Check:

• A quiet room with a door and a desk you can leave set up.
• Evening noise. If your calls run into the evening, bar streets can intrude. See the noise guide.
• Morning noise. Early calls collide with street traffic and building work. Visit at the hour you will work.
• Internet you can trust at your hours, plus a backup. See the internet guide and SIM card guide.
• Power and water interruptions. Ask the building how often they happen and plan a backup.
• Building quiet hours and house rules. Ask for the manual de convivencia.
• Lighting and background for evening video calls.

If you work from a cowork some days, check opening hours against your call schedule using the coworking guide, and keep a backup from the café guide.

Colombian Holidays, October 2026 to March 2027

Colombia’s Ley 51 de 1983 sets the paid public holidays. As published by the Función Pública, it moves January 6, March 19, October 12, November 1 and November 11 (and some Easter-linked holidays) to the following Monday when they do not already fall on one, while Holy Thursday and Good Friday are not moved. December 8, December 25 and January 1 are fixed. Applying that rule, with Easter Sunday 2027 on March 28, gives these dates:

We derived these dates from the law’s rule rather than reading an official calendar, so confirm them before setting client deadlines. They affect building services, repairs and who is available, and they overlap with busy travel weeks; read the high-season guide for those.

The Bottom Line

Pick the rental around the hours you work, not just the neighborhood. Choose a quiet room and reliable internet, check the building at your call hours, and keep your calendar in a named zone. Mark November 1, 2026 and March 14, 2027 in your calendar now. A test-drive stay shows you whether the schedule suits you before you commit.