Very few people fully appreciate what they have until they’ve experienced the alternative. Exhibit A: My family and I know we have great neighbors because that wasn’t always the case.

The worst neighbors we ever had lived on our street earlier this decade. A married couple in their mid-40s, both he and she smiled pleasantly at my wife and I whenever they encountered us in the neighborhood. Their children were outwardly respectful as well.

What was less ideal, however, was the manner in which they cleaned up after the two four-legged members of their family: They didn’t. Like most mammals, these two dogs, one large and one small, needed to relieve themselves from time to time. However, unlike most other suburbia-based canines, what they lacked were owners who felt obligated to clean up after their frequent and randomly placed defecations. As a result, every other resident of the neighborhood had to deal with odiferous and all-too-frequent land mines in his or her yard. This inappropriate state of affairs continued until the couple relocated to another state, hopefully one where the protocol for cleaning up after one’s pets was more convenient for them.

The neighbors we have now are all gems; they’re pleasant to my spouse and me, kind to our children, and each of them would be there for us at a moment’s notice if we needed help. However, I’m not sure I’d appreciate just how good we’ve got it had it not been for those people who were blithely going through life assuming that the neighborhood was their pets’ personal dumping ground.

On the theory that not everyone fully appreciates the folks next door until they’ve dealt with something less ideal, maybe it’s time we Pine Tree Staters more fully appreciate our chums to the north and east. Maine’s 611 miles of Canadian borderline is longer than that of any other United State, save for Alaska and Michigan. All told, the longest international boundary in the world is the 5,525-mile (or 8,891 kilometers, if you prefer) one shared by Canada and the United States.

The dominion to America’s north isn’t merely comprised of people who exist next door to us. The most recent available statistics at the Canadian embassy in Washington D.C. indicate that 37,200 jobs in Maine depend on U.S.-Canada trade, and that 6,474 people in Maine are employed by one of the 61 Canadian-owned companies that do business in the state. Maine sells more goods to Canada than it does to any other country in the world, although given our location perhaps that’s not surprising; after all, Montana, North Dakota, Vermont, Idaho, Minnesota, New York, and Michigan, border states all, can make the same claim.

But those who assume that Canadians are just throwing economic bones to their immediate neighbors had best think again. Canada is the top export destination for 35 of the 50 United States. More than eight million American jobs depend on U.S.-Canadian trade, and the total amount of merchandise trade between the two countries comes to a staggering $481 billion annually.

Nearly one million jobs (931,900, to be exact) in California depend on U.S.-Canadian trade, and 33,920 people in the Golden State are employed by one of 305 Canadian-owned companies that have set up shop there. Sixteen of the 50 states have at least 100 Canadian-owned companies operating inside their borders; only Wyoming (18) and Rhode Island (14) have fewer than 20 of them. Even Puerto Rico, which is currently an unincorporated U.S. territory, has 13 Canadian owned companies doing business there. Scotiabank has had a presence on the island for more than 100 years.

A Canadian company in Florida manufactures bird control radar systems for airports and military facilities. Another one in Tennessee reconfigured and reconstructed the Memphis railroad station and rail classification yard. A Canadian corporation that’s recognized as one of the top suppliers of engineered centrifugal pumps is located in Portland, Ore., and West Virginia’s Toyota manufacturing plant makes engines and transmissions that are shipped across America’s northern border to the company’s Canadian plants.

But if the only way to fully appreciate what we’ve got, for better or for worse, is to experience the alternative(s), why are so few Americans signing up to live next door to someone else for a while? After all, real estate prices in countries bordering Iran, North Korea and Syria are pretty reasonable these days; you can get lot of value for your dollar there.

It brings to mind yet another reason to appreciate our neighbours to the north: Not only do they dependably spend their tourist dollars here, they’ve sent nary a suicide bomber across our shared international boundary. And as they know in countries adjacent to Iraq, Yemen and Afghanistan, getting more bang for your buck isn’t always a good thing.

— Andy Young is going on hiatus while he and his family take their first-ever summer vacation trip together. Their itinerary will take them through at least 15 states ”¦ and two Canadian provinces!