Jason Duranceau's Blog

Leap Year!

Jason Duranceau (Town & Country Realty) — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 11:09:53 -0800

SO, every four years we do this Leap Year thing, big deal, right? The only thing I could do is look back four years and what was I doing the last time there was a leap year? I was just about ready to re-open a liquor store I purchased in Iowa where we lived. In no way was I even thinking about moving anywhere much less living in Oregon. My kids were 2 and 4, they weren't doing much for activities and drove us nuts during the winter because it was too cold to go outside. My wife was running our bookstore and coffee shop that we had owned for 7 years prior.

Fast forward 4 years and here we are in Oregon! We moved out here with no family, no friends, no jobs, we just did it! I am so glad we did too! Our boys are both in school, stay extremely busy with activities, and don't have to worry about snow or extreme cold temps. My wife is working at Oregon State University and I am working with the best real estate company in Corvallis at Town & Country Realty.

I just started in the industry and am new to town as well. We are making friends and connections fast, and I am doing all I can to learn the business. My most exciting step in my new career kicks off on Monday, when RealEstate.com hopefully launches the new website, where I am the sponsored agent. I am really happy that Active Rain, Market Leader, RealEstate.com, and Sharper Agent are all working together to make life good for agents. It must have been meant to be because I was with all of them separately before all these good partnerships started happening.

It's been a crazy year this last year, but it was good to look back and think about how much life has changed in just 4 short years. It's crazy to think that next Leap Year, my oldest son will be 12, my youngest 10. How much are they going to change in that period? We'll have almost 5 years of experience in our professions and be enjoying life in a great community full of wonder people. Happy Leap Year!

Restaurants in Corvallis

Jason Duranceau (Town & Country Realty) — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 12:02:27 -0800

There are some great restaurants in Corvallis. I haven't been to all of them yet, but I sure want to get to the ones I haven't soon. I will link as many as I can so you can explore yourself. The great thing about Corvallis is besides the fast food joints, there aren't many chains here. Mostly locally owned establishments where pride of ownership is always present. The only non fast food chains in town are Ruby Tuesday, which is one of my favorite chains, Applebee's, McGrath's Fish House, and Qdoba Mexican Grill. There are also some local chains like Pastini Pastaria and McMenamins. I haven't been to Pastini, but I have been to McMenamin's. It's mostly an Oregon chain of micro brew pubs that has great food and great beer that you can count on no matter where you find one. We are lucky enough to have two in town. One on campus and one just off downtown. My wife and I were very surprised a town this big has so few casual chain restaurants, but we like it! It is another part of what makes Corvallis a special place to live.

Downtown Corvallis is home to some of the best restaurants around. One of the first places my wife and I visited when we explored Corvallis before moving here was Flat Tail Brewery. Flat Tail has some special things going on. For such a new brewery, only two years old, they are making some of the best beer around. The food is always good and it's a great place to bring the family, watch the game, and enjoy some time with friends. When the weather is nice there are picnic tables outside that you can dine at while enjoying the downtown River Walk and the Willamette River. You can tell if you are a regular reader of my blog the Flat Tail is one my favorite places to eat. Flat Tail is owned by Duncan Culinary Ventures which also owns Aqua, a great seafood restaurant and bar, and BrewBQ. BrewBQ is brand new, it boasts real BBQ, slow cooked and smoked to perfection. They have five amazing homemade sauces to pick from, I can't wait until they start bottling their sauce, they are great! One of the other places we visited that first trip to Corvallis was 101 at Big River, and we have been back several times since. A great wine list, wonderful cocktails highlighted by a martini/manhattan menu, and a great selection of local tap beers accompany a great rotating menu of small plates and entrees. Right next door is Big River. Big River is a great place, open for lunch and dinner, they have fresh baked bread that is baked on sight and very, very good. The food is excellent, and if you are a pie fan, this is the place to be. It's the first thing you see when you walk in the door, then you know you have to save room for desert. Magenta is one of Corvallis' elegant restaurants. They have a huge assortment of dim sum plates. Small plates with tons of great flavor, they also have a rotating full dinner menu as well. They do a fabulous brunch on Sundays and are open for lunch as well. One thing for sure, no matter what you order at Magenta, your going to tell your friends about it, it's that good. We just went there this weekend and it was the best meal I had enjoyed in a while.

Who doesn't enjoy a good pizza? Well, I can tell you it's one of my favorite foods, and my stomach shows that! American Dream was good enough for our current President of the United States to enjoy while campaigning, so you know it's good enough for you! Just kidding, but seriously, it's really good pizza and is tops on the pizza places in town. By the slice or by the whole pie, this locally owned pizza joint serves up not only great pizza, but it's healthier than most. Skim milk cheese and wheat crusts are available. The Mary's Peak is one of my favorites there. A pesto sauce, herb chicken, black olives, feta cheese and roasted red peppers make this a unique pizza that will keep you coming back for more. In the summer, enjoy the roof top seating and take in some of Oregon's great summer weather and enjoy a pint of some local brews. Woodstocks is another locally owned staple in the pizza business in Corvallis. I really like their pizza too, but really, I've never met a pizza I didn't like, so take that into consideration! My favorite is the Spicy Beav, full of cheese and plenty of meat, there is just enough kick to let you know there is a little extra something in the sauce.

Of course, I have talked about the brew pubs in town already. Flat Tail and Block 15 are two of the best around. Great beer, good food, and great atmosphere at both. What I like about the brew pub atmosphere in Corvallis is there doesn't seem to be a "We're the best, and the others are no good" attitude. It's actually the opposite, they all get along and respect each other. They seem to just be happy that there are people coming to Corvallis and supporting the local breweries. The owners of Block 15 just opened a new restaurant located right next door called Les Caves which boasts the best selection of beer I've seen in a long time and some great food. It's brand spanking new, so check it out when you come to town and let me know what you think. I've been there once and enjoyed a wonderful beer bread pretzel with beer cheese sauce and stone ground mustard. If the rest of the food is as good as that, I'll be back for more.

Of course there are more restaurants in Corvallis than this, but these are the main ones that I frequent and really enjoy. One thing is for sure, you will not go hungry visiting the restaurants in Corvallis.

If you or anyone you know is moving in or to Corvallis, OR I would love to introduce you to some of these fine eating establishments and help you with your real estate needs. Just visit my website to contact me.

Fall in Corvallis

Jason Duranceau (Town & Country Realty) — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 14:49:39 -0800

Fall has always been my favorite season of the year. The only thing I didn't like about fall is that it has always meant winter was just around the corner, and snow and unbearable cold was sure to follow. Not this year. Fall meant so much more this year. Football dominated our fall, and it seems to be a popular venue for the town of Corvallis. Our boys started the fall by joining the Pop Warner football program that is a great way to introduce the boys to football. Anticipation for the season kept our boys on edge, they couldn't wait to put the pads on. Then came the Corvallis High School Spartans football team. With their artificial turf lit by the Friday Night Lights, it was a wonderful atmosphere. We witnessed a Corvallis tradition this fall, Crescent Valley High vs. Corvallis High. Both of these schools are located in Corvallis, and the rivalry runs deep through the town. This game was nothing short of extraordinary. Battling back from an early deficit, Corvallis kicked a 40+ yard field goal to win the game as time expired. I couldn't believe it. This rivalry can be seen all the way down to the Pop Warner level. It's all in good fun, many people are friends on both sides, but on that field, it's a different animal all together.

Saturdays are special in Corvallis. The town pretty much shuts down and there is only one event to attend that day; Oregon State Beaver Football. The parking lot is full of black and orange, people tailgating everywhere. It's a gathering of friends, family, and fans. No matter what the record is that year, the stands are full, the people are cheering and having a great time. Corvallis supports all Beavers sports teams to the best of its ability, it shows every Saturday there is a home football game.

There is more to the fall then football, I just didn't get to see much of it. The weather is great, we still had some pretty warm days in September and October was really nice this year. There is plenty of fall foliage to see as you drive around the area, and of course hiking, fishing, golfing, and other outdoor sports and activities are at a premium, with slightly cooler temperatures and still plenty of sun.

How we got to Corvallis

Jason Duranceau (Town & Country Realty) — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 17:48:51 -0800

Last week I gave a brief description of Corvallis and a few of it's highlights. Let me back up and tell you what I have to compare Corvallis with. I grew up in a tiny town in Wisconsin. Bloomer, WI (pop. 3,300) was where I called home from the ages of 5-21. It was a typical small farm town in the Midwest. Everyone new what everyone else was doing, and whose kids were running around causing trouble and everything else. From there I went to UW Stout in Menomonie, WI. A whopping 45 minutes from my home town and a much bigger city at 15,000, including students. Stout had roughly 7,000 students when I was there. Not a very big school. I was lucky enough to meet my wife there, and we moved back to her hometown in NE Iowa upon graduating. A town of roughly 9,000 people is where we thought we would spend the rest of our days. There we opened a bookstore and coffee shop, and purchased an existing liquor store. Wanting a little more opportunity for our children and sick of the extreme climates, we decided to look into moving. Through process of elimination, not wanting humidity or much snow, we decided the state of Oregon offered what we were looking for.

We picked four cities to investigate; Salem, Eugene, Medford, & Corvallis. Keeping it very secret, we told our friends we were going to visit wine country in Washington and Oregon. We had eliminated Salem and Eugene due to the size of the cities. We took a week and visited Corvallis and Medford. We were leaning towards Medford pre-trip since it was in southern Oregon and would have warmer year round temperatures, but was located next to nothing. Corvallis had the State University, was nicely located close to the coast, the mountains, and Portland. Living an hour and a half from an international airport is nice.

Upon our arrival to Corvallis, which was later in the evening on a Monday, we were happy to find a Ruby Tuesday close to the hotel and still open. The next day our Realtor took us around to some neighborhoods we were interested in and showed us a few houses. She then took us to Corvallis Country Club, which would be an important part of our social and recreational lives, and weigh heavy on our decision. We must have been there for almost an hour. We were talking to the pro shop staff, which were very extremely friendly, and the general manager went out of his way to make us feel welcome and ran to get us a membership packet. We had lunch at a wonderful restaurant called Big River. Finding Big River showed off Corvallis' wonderful downtown, the most scenic part was located next to the Willamette River, and the beautiful River Walk area was recently redone and is home to many great restaurants, brew pubs, and shops. More on that to come.

The next day we took the three hour drive down highway 5 to Medford. To make the story a little shorter, and to get back to why we chose Corvallis, Medford was not cool. People were nowhere near as nice, the city was not easy to get around, and we generally didn't like it. We had planned on spending two nights there, but my wife and I were both in agreement that Corvallis felt more like home, so we cut the trip to Medford short, and spent the extra night in Corvallis.

By the way, it wasn't the weather on that trip last October (2010), it rained the whole time we here. But we didn't care, if we were going to consider living in Corvallis, we better get used to the rain. When we got into town, I saw something while cruising downtown that interested me, a brew pub. After driving to Medford and back in two days, I was ready for a beer. The brew pub we went to that night was Flat Tail Brewing. What a great place, I can say I have been back several times since moving here, and would call it my favorite hangout bar. I am able to keep up on my beloved Green Bay Packers here, which also makes me happy. Flat Tail is not the only brew pub, Block 15 and McMennamin's are two other great places to enjoy a beer and great pub food.

We didn't move here just for the brew pubs, I promise. Everywhere we went, every place we ate, every business we went into, we were treated like family. We couldn't believe how nice everyone was everywhere we went. After the few days we visited Corvallis, it all clicked. Corvallis was huge (for us, remember we were from super small towns) but it had a small town feel to it. As I have been here since April, I am able to say Corvallis has the comfortableness of the Midwest towns we grew up in, with the amenities of a bigger city. We love it here, our kids have blended well, just last night the boys went trick or treating with a bunch of their new friends. Although I miss my friends in Iowa, I am happy we made the move. Corvallis is a truly special place, and I am happy to be here.

I will be updating this blog weekly with stories of our discovery of Corvallis. If you are thinking of moving to Corvallis and need real estate assistance, please visit my website, I would love to share the experience.

What Makes Corvallis So Special?

Jason Duranceau (Town & Country Realty) — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 17:48:04 -0800

Corvallis is a special place. I big piece of the puzzle that makes it special is the people. I think through this blog it's well established that I like to golf. So it would be fitting that this story would take place on the golf course. It was a colder and rainy week in February this last year that my wife and I brought our children out to pick out the house we would purchase in Corvallis. It wasn't the nicest of days, but two gentleman were going to play and welcomed me along. After not picking up a club in months I played surprisingly well. We only played 8 holes that day, the rain became a little more that the usual light rain we get in the winter. The three of us then sat down for lunch and conversation. I thought nothing of it and was glad to have met two of the many wonderful members of the Corvallis Country Club. It was March I think when I got a phone call from the sales director at the club. She "warned" me that one of the gentlemen I played with was talking about how good of a golfer I was and that someone would be calling me soon to be on their league team. WOW! I was so excited! I hadn't even moved to Corvallis yet and people are already recruiting me to be on their golf team. Now would that happen to everyone who moves to town, probably not. But the point being that people here seem to be very nice, with many people I have met go out of their way to make you feel welcome.

Another example of that was demonstrated heavily in the two months I was without my family while they stayed back in Iowa so my oldest son could finish 1st grade. After meeting the guys at the golf course, I was quick to be invited to many different things. People were quick to introduce me to the many great things about this community. The first night I was in town, I was invited to a OSU baseball game, which is a great tradition and a great time, by the way. I was even invited to two different Easter dinners during that holiday. Again, this will not be experienced by everyone, but I think it shows the generosity of the people here and that they are overall very friendly and welcoming.

The people of Corvallis contribute to many local and national rankings for a city. In 2008, Forbes Magazine ranked Corvallis as the 5th smartest city in the nation. Other rankings Corvallis residents can be proud of is top 20 places to live by Outside Magazine, Yahoo Real Estate top 10 places to live, Farmers Insurance most secure places to live #1, 2nd in nation for number of scientists as a percentage of employment, #1 Green Power Community in the nation, lowest risk of natural disaster by the NY Times, and many others. All of these accolades and more contribute to Corvallis landing on many a top city to live in America year after year.

One of the things that sticks out to this day is how many people ask us, "How did you pick Corvallis?" The way some people said that, it almost translated to, "How did you find out about this wonderful city?" (if you want to know the answer to that question, look at my first blog in the archives) People are proud of Corvallis and feel that it is a little piece of hidden heaven, and rightfully so. People that have been here for a long time seem to forget how beautiful this area is. The hills, mountains, rivers, and other local scenery are much to be desired, if this kind of scenery is new to you, it's hard not to drink it in every time you see it. I have a hard time playing golf without just taking a moment and admiring the view from our course, but what surprises me is it seems that I am the only one. Of course most of that is because I am new to the area, but it's going to take a while to get over how pretty everything is here.

I have been happy to call Corvallis home since April this year, and plan on staying here for quite some time. If you are moving to the Corvallis area, and would like real estate assistance, please feel free to visit my website, I would be happy to assist you.

Summer in Corvallis

Jason Duranceau (Town & Country Realty) — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 19:06:30 -0800

Summer is pretty much over, as it is pouring outside at the moment, I can't believe how nice the summers are here. Although many people told me it came late this year, it was well worth the wait. Instead of dealing with humidity and very high temperatures I have grown used to in the Midwest, I was able to enjoy sunshine, calm temperatures and very low humidity, if any.

Just in case you haven't enjoyed a summer in the Midwest, let me describe it for you. You get up at 7 and it's already 80 degrees outside. You shower, for what reason I'm not sure, because you immediately start sweating. There is a heat advisory so often the weather person should just tell us when it's not a heat advisory. Oh and if you are enjoying any summer activity, a thunderstorm or tornado could come at any given time.

Now let's go back to Oregon. You wake up and it's a cool 50 degrees. The high will be around 80 with NO humidity. If it gets a little warm, relief will come in the gentle breezes that come in from the coast around six o'clock most nights. Thunderstorms hardly exist. There was lighting once this year and it made the front page of the local paper. Tornadoes? Forget about 'em. There was one last year in the Salem area in the middle of nowhere, basically a weather fluke. I enjoyed everyday this summer. Even the four days there was some rain, that happened to be in a row. The summer more than makes up for the rainy days of winter.

Summer activities? There are several to be enjoyed here. I enjoyed many great days on the golf course. There are plenty of bike trails, hiking trails, parks and rivers to enjoy. My wife took a hike on Mary's Peak and took a picture of herself above the clouds. The coast is only an hour away and has many scenic locations and other great activities like an aquarium. If you are a baseball fan, you couldn't move to a bigger baseball community. The Oregon State Baseball team is the leading program at the University. Fresh of back-to-back National Championships in 2006 & 2007, and Sweet 16 participant last season, the Beavers always draw a great crowd. After the Beavers finish their season, the Corvallis Knights start theirs. The West Coast League Champions from 2011 provide fun for the whole family. The league is a wood bat league that is an outlet for many college players from the West coast and around the country to keep their skills sharp. No matter what your favorite summer activity is, be assured you can do it here in Corvallis and rarely have to worry about the weather. It's the most amazing summer I have ever experienced and am looking forward to many more.

If you are moving within or to the Corvallis area and need real estate assistance, I would love to help you with your transitions. Please visit my website to contact me.