Family has always mattered to me — but for most of my life, I didn't really know what close family felt like beyond my own front door.
I grew up in the UK in a loving but small family. Extended family was rarely around. It was only when I moved abroad and married into a bigger, closer Hungarian family that I got my first real taste of it — grandparents who are genuinely present, cousins who grow up together, aunts and uncles who are just part of life.
I was in my 30s by then. Better late than never. But it made me think hard about what most families are missing — and why.
My route here wasn’t straightforward.
I started out as a mechanical engineer, working on oil fields across Europe. But what really shaped me was travel — all told, nearly two years of backpacking, first on my own and later with my wife. Moving through different countries and cultures deepened my curiosity about people: how they live, what they value, and what family means in different parts of the world.
Eventually, I settled in Hungary with my wife, making us a multicultural family in the truest sense. British and Hungarian at home, with my sister raising her family in Asia and relatives on three continents. I retrained with an MBA and built a career in digital consulting, helping organisations solve problems with technology.
But the problem I most wanted to solve didn’t reveal itself until our boys arrived — and I realised just how scattered, and how precious, our family really was.
The turning point was a phone call I wasn’t expecting.
Both my parents became seriously ill at the same time. I was thousands of miles away and completely unable to help.
For the first time, I felt the true cost of distance. Not just the missing of day-to-day life, but something more frightening: the realisation that time with them wasn’t unlimited, and that distance had quietly stolen more than I’d noticed.
It felt like now or never — time to have those deeper conversations and feel that real sense of connection.
And there was something else, even worse: so many cherished family stories — about their lives, their parents, our family’s history — lived only in their heads. One day, it would all be gone. I couldn’t let that happen.
For the full story of how Simirity came to be, read Our Family Story.
Building Simirity meant I had to really understand the problem — not just for my own family, but for hundreds of others.
Over the past seven years, I’ve read everything I could find on family psychology and connection. I’ve gone through formal training. And I’ve spoken with hundreds of families — through surveys, interviews, and conversations — trying to understand what genuinely keeps people together when life pulls them in different directions.
What I’ve found is this: the families who stay connected don’t do it by accident. They make specific, small, intentional choices — about how they communicate, what they share, and how they hold on to the things that matter.
Most families are stuck in a pattern of staying in touch without ever feeling truly part of each other’s lives. The group chat. The annual visit. The catch-up video call where the kids aren’t really paying attention. It keeps the relationship ticking over. It doesn’t make them grow.
Helping families break out of that pattern — and feel genuinely close, not just in touch — has been our mission for the last seven years.
My family is still spread across continents. I’m still working on being more intentional about connection — having the conversations that matter, preserving the stories before it’s too late, making sure my boys feel truly connected to their grandparents, aunts, and cousins.
If any of that resonates — the distance, the missed moments, the stories you haven’t captured yet — you’re in the right place. Have a look around, and whenever you’re ready, I’d love to show you what we’ve built for families like yours.
Simirity is a private digital home for your family’s stories.
It lets families share rich, multimedia stories — combining photos, videos, voice recordings, and maps — in a secure, private space that’s completely separate from social media. Every story is preserved and organised by family member and timeline, so nothing gets lost in a feed. Simirity is built for families who want to feel closer across distance and preserve their stories for the children and grandchildren who come after them.
Learn more about how Simirity works.
Andrew Ronald, founder of Simirity, writes the majority of the blog.
Andrew has spent seven years researching family psychology, connection, and storytelling — surveying and interviewing hundreds of families along the way. From time to time, guest contributors with relevant expertise or lived experience are invited to share their own perspectives on family life.
All posts are reviewed and overseen by Andrew, and each article clearly displays its author.
The blog is organised into ten collections covering the full range of family life:
Every article is written with one goal in mind: helping families feel more genuinely connected — whether they live next door or on different continents.
Explore the Simirity family blog.
Simirity is for families who care deeply about staying connected and preserving what matters.
It works especially well for families spread across different countries or cities — where meaningful connection can’t rely on being in the same room. If you want grandparents to truly know their grandchildren, if you want your family’s stories to survive beyond a lifetime, or if you simply want your family to feel closer than a weekly video call allows — Simirity is designed for you.
It’s not for every family. It’s for families who are willing to be a little more intentional about connection.
Try the Simirity demo to see it in action or explore the top 5 ways families use Simirity if you’re still figuring out whether it’s right for yours.
The best way to reach us is by email at info@simirity.com for general enquiries, feedback, or questions about the platform.
If you’d like to speak with Andrew directly — whether about Simirity, a potential collaboration, or simply to share your thoughts — you’re welcome to book a free 30-minute video call.