I got laid off at 65 and couldn't afford my Bay Area mortgage. Now, I work for myself while traveling the world.

• After a career in financial services, Tony Woodall was laid off from First Republic Bank in 2023.
• He decided to rent his Bay Area home, start a corporate training business, and become a digital nomad.
• Now, he balances full-time travel with multiple income streams and is deciding where to retire.

I began my career in the financial services industry in 1985 in the warehouse at Fannie Mae Software Systems.

I went from loading software and shipping computers to mortgage companies, to starting and running a mortgage tech consulting firm, and then becoming the Chief Information Officer for two startup mortgage companies, all without a college degree.