I have worked in radio for nearly 25 years. Radio life is a little different than the usual office experience. I often describe it as being like a pre-teen girl for eternity. I listen to music, and talk on the phone. The majority of my career has been working a solo show. I’ve had co-hosts for a few years and worked on a morning show team for a bit, but most of my time has been in that little room talking into the microphone and goofing off – by myself.
I had a boss say to me once that radio jocks are “one step away from living in our mother’s basement.” Because I’ve always been in that little room by myself, I’d be the first to admit my social skills aren’t the best.
I was impressed, and felt highly underdressed. That’s the other thing about a career in radio – showers are optional. Jeans and a baseball hat are totally acceptable. Show up in a pair of pants and shirt with a collar and the questioning stares immediately pop up “Where’s the job interview?”
It’s a very lax environment, this radio career. I’m on the air for 4-5 hours and usually in the building for little more than an hour more than that. I do my show prep and research early in the morning before the kids wake up, or at night after everyone’s in bed. My ‘shift’ may appear short, but my workday is just as long as anyone else.
Still, with the short office time, I have a more freestyle approach to how I get the work done. I can drop my son off at 830 for school, and be there again at 330 to pick him up. That’s not what life is like for the downtown crowd. On my way into the city, I watched people drop their kids off at daycare at 7am and the roads were busier early in the morning that they are when I drive in 90 minutes later.
It’s an entirely different world these downtown career folk lead, and while it looks much more sociable, friendly, lively, and exciting, I’m guessing it’s also a little expensive. The parking. The transit. The lunches. The malls. The lunches.
I sat there and stared and wondered what life in these tower must be like. It’s the equivalent of living in quiet suburbia versus living in a bustling apartment block. While I think the busy, hectic downtown life would be fun, I’m fine with my laid back lifestyle. There’s a pang of envy, sure, and then I remember I’m wearing jeans on a Thursday and my boss is fine with it.
Image via Longo Miquelito
That time for me, is now. I moved up the dial this week, from 90.3 to 103.1. I no longer host the morning show on AMP Radio, I now do middays on 
